Former play-by-play announcer Grant Napear calls Kings great Doug Christie a ‘coward’
Former Kings play-by-play announcer Grant Napear took a shot at ex-broadcast partner Doug Christie on his latest podcast, calling Christie a “coward” for not standing by his side amid allegations of racial insensitivity.
Napear’s 32-year run on Sacramento’s airwaves ended in June after he set off a social media firestorm with his response to a question about Black Lives Matter from former Kings All-Star DeMarcus Cousins. Napear was fired by Sports 1140 KHTK and resigned from his television job with the Kings after telling Cousins “ALL LIVES MATTER,” a Tweet that drew pointed insinuations from Cousins and other former Kings players such as Chris Webber and Matt Barnes.
Napear addressed rumors about his “fractured” relationship with Christie in response to a question from a listener on the “If You Don’t Like That with Grant Napear” podcast. Christie, another former Kings player, worked with Napear on television and radio in Sacramento.
“I’ve seen many people ask this question, and I’m just like, ‘Why duck it?’ There’s really no reason,” Napear said. “Again, if I’m going to be transparent … and I’m going to do a podcast and I’m going to do my rants and I’m going to put it all out there, then I’m either going to put it all out there 100% or not at all.
“So Max asks this question: ‘Hi Grant. I’ve been seeing stuff online about your relationship with Doug being fractured. Is it true? Can you talk about it?’
“I’ll answer the question, Max, this way, and it’s something I have ingrained in my head from this summer’s events. MLK Jr. said this: ‘In the end, we’ll remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.’ Basically (that) says comments from your enemies may hurt, right? That’s what that saying by MLK Jr. means, right? Comments from your enemies may hurt. However, the hurt from friends not standing by and supporting you is forever remembered. Now, I would like to just take all of that and succinctly sum it up in just one word, and that one word is ‘coward.’”
Christie, a beloved former Kings guard who played for Sacramento from 2000-05, served as Napear’s color commentator during Kings television broadcasts on NBC Sports California. Christie also worked as Napear’s co-host on “The Grant Napear Show” on Sports 1140 KHTK.
Napear did not respond to a request for further comment from The Sacramento Bee. The Kings did not respond to a request for comment from Christie.
Christie addressed his relationship with Napear on radio the day Napear was fired.
“A lot of people grew up on Grant,” Christie said. “As I said, I’ve got mad love and respect for Grant. On this particular instance, and what we’re talking about, and it’s not the first time Grant and I disagreed, and that’s OK. ... We could agree to disagree.”
Napear still enjoys a strong following among many sports fans in Sacramento who have spoken against his ouster on social media, an issue that sparked debate among Kings fans. Napear has spoken out about “cancel culture,” America’s racial divide and the politicization of professional sports.
Another listener asked Napear if fans will turn away from Major League Baseball after the San Francisco Giants and other teams chose to kneel during the national anthem this season.
“I think it turns some people away,” Napear said. “… I’ve been very consistent with this. I said this before Colin Kaepernick took a knee, and that is political and social stances at sporting events is going to turn away people.
“Now we don’t really know how many people yet because there aren’t fans that are allowed into the venues. You know the TV ratings are down but there are a lot of reasons for that.
“We won’t really know the full effect of your question and what we are discussing until you’re allowed to have arenas and stadiums at full capacity.”
This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Former play-by-play announcer Grant Napear calls Kings great Doug Christie a ‘coward’."
