A’s announcer Glen Kuiper was fired by NBC Sports California just over two weeks after uttering the N-word during a broadcast.
Kuiper, a 60-year-old veteran play-by-play broadcaster and former minor league player, said the n-word on live television when describing a trip to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum during a pregame segment prior the Oakland’s 12-8 win over the Royals on May 5.
“Following an internal review, the decision has been made for NBC Sports California to end its relationship with Glen Kuiper, effective immediately,” NBC Sports California told the Associated Press in a statement. “We thank Glen for his dedication to Bay Area baseball over the years.”
Glen Kuiper was fired by NBC Sports California. Getty ImagesThe decision was based in part due to new information uncovered during the internal review, a source told the outlet.
While speaking to broadcast partner Dallas Braden in the pregame segment, Kuiper seemingly mispronounced the word “Negro,” when describing the museum, instead saying the slur.
Without getting into specifics, Kuiper apologized on air later in the game and claimed that something he said “didn’t come out quite the way I wanted it to.”
He was quickly suspended by NBC following the game, however.
The A’s condemned his language at the time, as well.
“The language used by Glen Kuiper during today’s pregame broadcast is unacceptable,” the A’s said in a statement after the incident. “The Oakland Athletics do not condone such language. We are working to address the situation.”
Kuiper and Braden had been talking about their “phenomenal” time at the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City before the former’s slur.
Bob Kendrick, the president of the museum who had greeted Kuiper and Braden hours before the on-air comments, condemned the slur but also expressed his forgiveness of Kuiper.
“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 don’t pretend to know Glen’s 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!”
Glen Kuiper (r.) used a racial slur on the A’s broadcast on May 5. ScreengrabBraden claimed that he did not hear Kuiper’s slip-up in the moment in a statement explaining why he didn’t say anything on air when it happened.
Kuiper, the younger brother of former MLB player and Giants announcer Duane Kuiper, had been calling A’s games for about 20 years.
