Washington Wizards analyst Glenn Consor apologized this morning via Twitter for his comment about Kevin Porter Jr. during last night’s game.
Consor was widely derided after his remark last night. From our post:
“Kevin Porter Jr., like his dad, pulled that trigger right at the right time,” said Consor.
If you’re unaware of why that sentence is so shocking, it’s because Porter’s father, Kevin Porter Sr., was charged with first-degree murder after shooting a 14-year-old girl and spent four years in prison over it (Porter Sr. claimed the gun accidentally discharged, which was backed up by a witness). Porter Sr. was killed in 2004 after being shot five times in a bar following a heated interaction.
At the time, it felt like Consor’s line was much more likely a case of mistaken identity. Kevin Porter (no relation) played in the 70s and 80s, including a stint at the end of his career with Washington. Consor claimed in his apology that was indeed his mistake:
I want to sincerely apologize to Kevin Porter Jr and clarify last night’s call. pic.twitter.com/UweFhFnkbt
— Glenn Consor (@glennconsor) January 6, 2022
You can see where Consor was coming from; it’s a common broadcasting move to try and connect an opposing player with someone your audience would recognize. It’s hard to imagine a more brutally timed mistake, but here we are.
That said, you can’t completely excuse Consor. A professional analyst should certainly not get that very basic fact wrong. (The player Consor presumably thought of is 71 years old, for one thing, which doesn’t preclude someone from having a 21 y/o son, but it should certainly give pause.) Kevin Porter Jr. is in his third season in the league, and even in the most forgiving read of this situation Consor apparently never bothered to check if his dad was the former NBA player.
The Wizards also failed to really get out in front of things on this one, which let the story steamroll overnight and this morning, culminating in LeBron James tweeting about it.
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! https://t.co/UgVOBUOsPK
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 6, 2022
Obviously it’s not equivalent to the Thom Brennaman situation or things of that nature. But it’s still not good. Credit Consor for personally and publicly apologizing, but it’s still inexcusable and could have been easily avoided with better preparation.
