MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CELEBRITY NEWS

Who is Kevin Porter Jr's dad? Wizards announcer Glenn Consor slammed for 'insensitive' comment

Glenn Consor said, 'You’ve got to give credit. Kevin Porter Jr, like his dad, pulled that trigger right at the right time'

After the Rockets’ 114-111 win against Washington on Wednesday, January 5, a Wizards announcer has come under fire for comment about Kevin Porter Jr's late father, which has been branded "inexcusable." After receiving considerable backlash, the announcer apologized for his mistake. 

Following Porter Jr scoring a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer, Glenn Consor, on the NBC Sports Washington broadcast, said, “You’ve got to give credit. Kevin Porter Jr, like his dad, pulled that trigger right at the right time.” Porter's father is Bryan Kevin Porter Sr, who died in July 2004 after being shot at a bar in South Seattle. It was the same place where the Rockets star and his two sisters grew up. Incidentally, Porter Sr also pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of a 14-year-old girl in 1993 and was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. 

READ MORE

LeBron James slammed for sneaking in tequila to NBA finals, Internet says 'kids look up to you'

LeBron James vs Hwang Dong-hyuk: 'Squid Game' creator shuts down NBA star for dig at hit show

In June 2019, Porter Jr told Bleacher Report about the tragedy, “I don’t remember much but I know he was shot multiple times and that was basically the end of that.” Porter Jr  was four years old when his father was killed. He wore No. 4 at USC to honor his dad. He later added, “A lot people call me Kevin Porter and I get like, offended because I’m a Jr, I’m basically a 2.0 of my father.” at the 2019 NBA Draft, when he was selected 30th overall by the Bucks, Porter Jr walked the red carpet in a velvet green suit, carrying photos of his father on the inside of his jacket.

'How insensitive can you be'

Consor's comments were soon met with heavy criticism on the internet, led by none other than NBA star LeBron James. The Los Angeles Lakers champion said: "Oh he thought this was cool huh!!?? Nah we ain’t going for this! 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!"

Soon others joined in. While many of the users condemned the announcer's words, others chose to give him the benefit of the doubt, seeing that it could have been a case of mistaken identity. "'Kevin Porter Jr., like his dad, pulled that trigger right at the right time' I can’t believe this was actually said on the Wizards broadcast.. Completely inexcusable," one of them said, while another noted, "The announcer just pulled a George Costanza." A third commented, "These commentators have no sense of respect or chill bruh." One more added, "I honestly think he thought his dad was Kevin Porter the former NBA player. I find it extremely unlikely he’d joke about something that awful. I didn’t even know who his real dad was or what he did before I just looked it up. Hopefully, it was just a horribly worded mistake."

The next remarked, "Not making an excuse for Glenn, but this is a case of mistaken identity for sure. He wouldn’t intentionally ever do that to a kid like this." One of them wrote, "That is a terrible explanation and as a professional media member, he should have researched before the game so I do not agree with his statement, initial comment or those trying to support bad apples!" Another quipped, "Announcers FREQUENTLY cite stats that most people have never thought of. You telling me this man didn’t know a vital fact about a player that’s averaging 30 minutes a game?" A commenter tweeted, "Are you effing kidding me???"

Glenn Consor apologizes

The Wizards announcer released a statement Thursday morning to his Twitter account apologizing for his words, confirming the fact that he was not aware of who PorterJr.'s father was. “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,” the statement read. “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. I have reached out Kevin to personally apologize and hope to be able to talk with him soon.”