Former Sacramento Kings broadcaster Grant Napear is suing Bonneville International for wrongful termination after the company fired him for a tweet last year. Fox 40 first reported the news, as Napear looks to get financial closure after his 32-year tenure abruptly ended.
Amidst the George Floyd protests, former Kings player Demarcus Cousins tweeted at Napear, asking him, “what’s your take on BLM?” In response, Napear tweeted back, “ALL LIVES MATTER…EVERY SINGLE ONE!!!”
The phrase “all lives matter” is viewed by social justice activists as an attack on Black Lives Matter.
Sports Radio 1140 KHTK, the Kings’ flagship, fired Napear shortly after the tweet went up and KHTK’s parent company, Bonneville International, released this statement:
“While we appreciate Grant’s positive contributions to KHTK over the years, his recent comments about the Black Lives Matter movement do not reflect the views or values of Bonneville International Corporation.
“The timing of Grant’s tweet was particularly insensitive. After reviewing the matter carefully, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with Grant.”
Now, Grant Napear is seeking damages for the whole ordeal, from lost and future wages; to emotional distress. Bonneville International did not respond to Fox40’s comment request.
“I said ‘all lives matter, every single one’, because I meant it. Do the lives of Black people matter? Hell yeah, the lives of Black people matter,” Napear told Fox40 last year. “I’m for equality for all; that’s how I was raised. That’s how my dad brought up my brother and I.”
Napear expanded even more on his decision-making in the 2020 interview.
“Do I make mistakes? Yeah, I make mistakes, and if I make a mistake, I try to say that I’m sorry,” Grant Napear said to Fox40. “But I’m not sorry for saying ‘all lives matter, every single one,’” he said. “I’m not sorry because I believe that every life is important. I’m not sorry because I believe in equality for all. I’m not sorry because I try to treat everyone, regardless of the color of their skin, the same.”
The sports broadcaster isn’t admitting wrongdoing, and he’ll have his day in court to prove it. Read the full lawsuit on the Fox40 page here.