Grant Harrington Napear[1] (born June 18, 1959) is an American radio personality who currently hosts his own podcast If You Don't Like That With Grant Napear. Before this he hosted The Grant Napear Show, at KHTK Sports 1140 in Sacramento, California where he was fired for tweeting "All lives matter, Every Single One" during the George Floyd protest. He was also the play-by-play announcer for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA), but resigned. He has been a guest host on The Jim Rome Show.
Grant Napear | |
|---|---|
 Napear in 2010 | |
| Born | Grant Harrington Napear June 18, 1959 Syosset, New York, U.S. |
| Other names | Peaches |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
| Spouse | Starr Napear |
| Children | 2 |
A section of Napear's radio show was "Grant's Rant", in which he furiously exclaims into the microphone about everyday things that irritate him, such as obese passengers on airplanes, stop lights at freeway on-ramps, and people asking him if he's ready for Christmas during the holidays.[citation needed] His signature phrase is "If you don't like that, you don't like NBA basketball".[2]
Early life
editBorn in Syosset, New York, Napear graduated from Syosset High School in 1977 and earned his academic degree in broadcast journalism from Bowling Green University, where he also played lacrosse.[3]
Broadcasting history
editThis section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (June 2020) |
- 1977–1981: Football, basketball and hockey play-by-play announcer for Bowling Green University
- 1985–1987: Weekend sports anchor, WAND, Decatur, IL[3]
- 1987–1995: Sports director for KRBK-TV/KPWB (now KMAX-TV) Channel 31, Sacramento California
- 1988–2020: Sacramento Kings play-by-play television announcer
- 1992–1994: Play-by-play announcer for the Sacramento Gold Miners
- 1995–1998: Sacramento Kings play-by-play radio announcer (KHTK)
- 2000–2015: play-by-play announcer for the San Jose Sabercats
- 2003: Oakland Raiders preseason television announcer
- 2011–2012: Sacramento Mountain Lions play-by-play announcer[4]
- 2020–present: If You Don't Like That With Grant Napear podcast
Views on race
editNapear has been accused of racism by former players for the Sacramento Kings and has come under fire for defending Donald Sterling, the former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers banned from the NBA after making racist remarks.[5] On May 31, 2020, after the start of the George Floyd protests, Napear was placed on leave by KHTK after he responded on Twitter to former Kings' player DeMarcus Cousins' question regarding Black Lives Matter with the phrase "All lives matter, Every Single One." Two days later, the station announced that they had fired Napear, and he announced he had resigned from his TV position with the Kings.[6]
References
edit- ^ The Jerry Reynolds Show (January 29, 2020). "The Jerry Reynolds Show - S01E07 - Grant Napear". YouTube. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
My middle name is Harrington, named after the minister of my parents' church...
- ^ Dwyer, Kelly (2006-04-11). "Words to Watch by". SI.com. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2008.
- ^ a b Riggs, David A. (2008-01-23). "On The Right Track". Fanfare Magazine. Archived from the original on May 27, 2008.
- ^ "Mountain Lions Home Games Will Air On Comcast Sportsnet California This Season". UFL Football. Archived from the original on November 24, 2011.
- ^ Macias, TJ (2020-06-01). "Ex-Kings call basketball team's announcer a clown, 'closet racist' in Twitter exchange". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
- ^ Breton, Marcos (2020-06-02). "Grant Napear out as TV announcer for Sacramento Kings, also done with talk radio show". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 2020-06-02.