NBC Sports California has fired Oakland A's broadcaster Glen Kuiper for his use of a racial slur on air earlier this month, the network announced Monday.
As reported by Sports Illustrated, the 60-year-old Kuiper had been indefinitely suspended a day after the May 5 incident during an A's game at Kansas City. During a pregame segment, Kuiper used a racial slur while discussing a visit to K.C.’s Negro Leagues Baseball Museum with broadcast partner and former A’s pitcher Dallas Braden.
“Following an internal review, the decision has been made for NBC Sports California to end its relationship with Glen Kuiper, effective immediately,” a network spokesperson said in a statement. “We thank Glen for his dedication to Bay Area baseball over the years.”
According to Jelani Scott of SI, Kuiper addressed his actions with an on-air apology at the top of the sixth inning in the incident’s aftermath. He later apologized again following his suspension, saying he “could not be more sorry and horrified” by what he said.
“A little bit earlier in the show, I said something that didn’t come out quite the way I wanted it to,” Kuiper said during the game. “I just wanted to apologize if it sounded different than I meant it to be said. … I just wanted to apologize for that.”
Kuiper claimed that he mispronounced the word "negro."
In a post-game statement, the A's called Kuiper’s language “unacceptable.”
"The language used by Glen Kuiper during today’s pregame broadcast is unacceptable," the team wrote. "The Oakland Athletics do not condone such language. We are working to address the situation.”
Kuiper was in his 17th season with NBC Sports, covering A’s games as the team's primary play-by-play announcer.
