Chris “Mad Dog” Russo said NBA broadcaster Grant Napear – who was fired from one job and resigned from another job after his tweet “All Lives Matter” amid protests George Floyd was met with a strong reaction – not racist.
Russo – who has known Napear since “1965-66” – said other people who knew Napear in different periods of his life might have different views, but the man he knew was not a racist.
“I have known Grant personally for 54 years,” Russo said on the “Mad Dog Sports Radio” program on a clip provided by Funhouse Twitter account. “To say that Grant Napear is a racist is absurd. In my knowledge of him … Grant Napear, believe me when I say this, it’s me, not racist at all. “
On Tuesday, Napear, a Syosset High School graduate in Long Island, was fired by Sports 1140 KHTK in Sacramento and resigned as a play-by-play broadcaster on Kings TV.
Napear, a Syosset High School graduate in Long Island, tweeted “All Lives Matter … Every Single One!” on Sunday after former Kings star DeMarcus Cousins asked 60 years for his views on the Black Lives Matter movement.
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and Grant NapearRobert Sabo; Take the NBA.com screen
“[I was] not educated about BLM as I thought, “he said. “I didn’t know that when I said ‘All Lives Matter’ that was contrary to what BLM was trying to convey.”
Mad Dog Russo alluded to the “absurd” idea that his old friend Grant Napear was a racist. Napear had been a match after match announcer for the Sacramento Kings until he was criticized yesterday for his “All Lives Matter” tweet. pic.twitter.com/WfLVTzVOmB
Many believe that people who use the phrase “All Lives Matter” mock the group, which began in 2013 as a movement against systematic racism and police brutality.
Floyd, 46, died on May 25 in Minneapolis after police officer Derek Chauvin, 44, pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes after Floyd allegedly spent fake $ 20 bills. Chauvin had been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree murder .
