Washington Wizards announcer Glenn Consor has since apologized for his remark about the father of Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. Consor says he mistaken Porter Jr. to be the son of former Washington Bullets point guard Kevin Porter, who played in the NBA from 1972-83.
Consor was unaware that Porter’s actual father, Kevin Porter Sr., was responsible for the shooting death of a 14-year old girl in 1993 when he said “Kevin Porter Jr., like his dad, pulled that trigger right at the right time” during Wednesday night’s broadcast between the Wizards and Rockets.
Porter’s father later shot and killed in a Seattle bar when Porter was just four years old.
It’s unclear if Porter has accepted Consor’s apology. However, one NBA player that is not buying the apology is Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
James was critical of Consor when he first learned of the comment.
James doubled down on his first reaction after learning about Consor’s apology. Speaking with reporters after a Lakers practice Thursday, James said “I stand by my tweet and everything I said.”
“If I am a play-by-play announcer and I’m covering my local team — in his case, he’s covering the Wizards, so he remembers Kevin Porter who used to play for the Bullets, correct? The first thing I would’ve done, I would’ve said ‘Oh Kevin Porter Jr. is coming into town, let me see if that’s his on,” LeBron said (h/t ClutchPoints).
James claims he watched the game in which the Rockets won on a Porter three-pointer to beat the buzzer. Consor never referenced Porter Sr. throughout the broadcast until Porter’s game-winner.
“What he said — no matter if he thought that was his dad or not — was so insensitive and the words he used — we know the words that he used, I don’t even want to repeat it — is not even something that should ever be said,” James said.
James has a point that Consor should have confirmed before going on air if the Bullets’ Kevin Porter was indeed Porter’s father. A simple google search would have steered him to Porter’s actual father.
It’s a mistake that an on-air personalty shouldn’t make, especially one covering a Rockets game.
It’s easy for most that don’t know to assume Kevin Porter of the Bullets is related to the Rockets young guard. But Consor isn’t a casual fan or fan looking on from afar. He is a journalist, whose job is to fact check.
James’ former teammate with the Cleveland Cavaliers Kevin Love showed his support for Consor. Love understands the first reaction is to protect players, but said “context is everything.”
James responded by same he has an obligation to protect Porter who looks up to him.
“We gonna continue to protect our players,” James responded when asked about Love’s tweet. “They said he’s supposed to be a very smart guy, right? If you’re a very smart guy, I believe you should be able to do your homework on situations…
“If you go and you look, and you know the history of this kid’s dad, you can’t sit here and tell me that those words — it’s just a direct correlation.”
It’s an unfortunate mishap by Consor. One that was very avoidable with a little research. Consor said he reached out to personally apologize to Porter. Hopefully the two can have a thoughtful conversation about Consor’s remark.
