NBC Sports California has terminated its relationship with Glen Kuiper, the Oakland A's long-time sports announcer, following his use of a racial slur during a live broadcast.
Kuiper had been recalling a recent visit to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum during a pregame segment on May 5 when he seemingly mispronounced the word "Negro" and uttered the racial slur instead. NBC Sports California released a statement saying,
"Following an internal review, the decision has been made for NBC Sports California to end its relationship with Glen Kuiper, effective immediately. We thank Glen for his dedication to Bay Area baseball over the years."
Kuiper, who had been a 20-year play-by-play sports broadcaster for the Oakland A's, expressed his regret in a statement, saying, "I sincerely apologize to everyone who was hurt by this. It was a terrible but honest mispronunciation, and I take full responsibility."
He added that he believes he was given a wrongful termination and wished that the "Oakland As and NBC Sports would have taken into consideration my 20-year career, my solid reputation, integrity and character, but in this current environment traits like integrity and character are no longer considered."
The incident occurred during a live pregame show while Kuiper was speaking to broadcast partner Dallas Braden. Kuiper had started to describe his trip to the famed sports museum and seemingly mispronounced the word "Negro" and uttered the racial slur instead.
At the start of the game on May 5, Kuiper apologized on-air, saying that something he had said "didn't come out quite the way I wanted it to," but didn't give specifics. NBC suspended him after the game against the Royals, and the Oakland A's released a statement condemning Kuiper's language as "unacceptable."
Bob Kendrick, the president of the museum who had taken Kuiper and Braden on the tour, released a statement encouraging others to forgive Kuiper for the obvious "mistake" in the use of language. "I'm aware of the unfortunate slur made by Glen Kuiper," Kendrick said in a statement at the time. "I welcomed Glen to the NLBM yesterday and know he was genuinely excited to be here. The word is painful and has no place in our society. And while I dont pretend to know Glens heart, I do know that my heart is one of forgiveness. I hope all of you will find it in yourselves to do the same!"
According to the Associated Press, NBC's decision to fire Kuiper allegedly followed information that was uncovered during an internal review of the 60-year-old famous broadcast veteran, in addition to the incident on May 5. Kuiper expressed his love for the game of baseball and the Bay Area community, saying, "I hope I will be remembered for that."
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