A Washington Wizards basketball announcer who came under fire for a comment he made about Kevin Porter Jr. apologized on Thursday, saying he mistook the Houston Rockets player and his father for someone else.
The announcer, Glenn Consor, made the comment during a Wednesday game against the Wizards after Porter made a 3-point shot right before the buzzer went off.
“You’ve got to give credit. Kevin Porter Jr., like his dad, pulled that trigger right at the right time,” Consor said on-air, according to a video circulating on social media. “Boy, that one stung.”
Several people, including Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, took to social media to criticize Consor over the remark because Porter’s father, Bryan Kevin Porter Sr, pleaded guilty in the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old girl in 1993, according to USA Today. He was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison over the shooting.
Porter Sr. died in 2004 after being shot in a South Seattle bar, the newspaper reported.
“Oh he thought this was cool huh!!?? Nah we ain’t going for this!” James tweeted after re-posting the video. “Sorry but this ain’t going to fly! How insensitive can you be to say something like this. Beat it man! I pray for you but there’s no place in our beautiful game for you!”
Another Twitter user wrote that Porter “deserved better than that unfortunate commentary over his game winner.”
Consor issued an apology Thursday and said he thought the NBA star was the son of former Washington player Kevin Porter, who played 10 seasons in the league.
“Please allow me to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to Kevin Porter Jr., his family and the Rockets organization for the comments I made during last night’s game,” Consor wrote on Twitter. “I mistakenly thought that Kevin was the son of former Washington player Kevin Porter and was unaware that the words I chose to describe his game-winning shot would be in any way hurtful or insensitive.”
Consor said he also reached out to Porter to personally apologize to him.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
