Suspended Athletics broadcaster Glen Kuiper was fired by NBC Sports California on Monday in the aftermath of his use of a racial slur on air earlier this month, the network announced.
Kuiper, 60, was indefinitely suspended a day after the May 5 incident during Oakland’s game against the Royals. During a pregame segment before the A’s matchup in Kansas City, 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, via The Athletic. “We thank Glen for his dedication to Bay Area baseball over the years.”
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.”
The A’s also issued a statement following the game, calling 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 covering A’s games for NBC Sports. Kuiper, who is the younger brother of former MLB player and Giants announcer Duane Kuiper, had worked as the network’s primary play-by-play broadcaster.
