After years in exile, former Sacramento Kings broadcaster Grant Napear is returning to the airwaves in California’s capital city.
Napear is making his return to Sacramento radio on the local Fox Sports station on September 2nd on weekday afternoons as he shared in a social media post. He was the voice of the Sacramento Kings for decades until a controversial 2020 post in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Kings announcer replied to DeMarcus Cousins in a contentious social media exchange by saying “All Lives Matter.” In the ensuing controversy that followed, Napear was unapologetic. However, he resigned from his position with the Kings and was also fired from KHTK where he hosted a radio show.
My show debuts September 2nd. 3-6 weekday afternoons! Let’s do this! #foxsportsradiosacramento pic.twitter.com/ulZ8mAzd4Z
— Grant Napear (@GrantNapearshow) August 7, 2025
After the firing, Grant Napear embarked on a years-long legal challenge that saw a discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuit both dismissed. Now, he will be competing against the same station that he sued and was fired from.
The longtime Sacramento personality is joining Fox Sports Sacramento, a relatively new sports station in the city that will go head-to-head with former outlet KHTK. In comments to the Sacramento Bee, Napear is eager to compete.
“It’s going to be the Grant Napear show that people have listened to for decades,” Napear told me. “I’m competitive. I’m not only coming back to Sacramento. I’m coming back to win.” For years, Napear’s afternoon show on the Kings’ flagship station dominated the Sacramento market. The acerbic New Yorker had also been a TV broadcaster for the Kings for 32 years until June of 2020, when his career was effectively canceled.
[…]
“I’m gonna put them on the map. I want people to know that I’m not doing this because I’m desperate. I’m doing this because I want to do it. It’s been a void in my life. There is nothing like the community of Sacramento. I want to talk to Sacramento fans again. I want to win the afternoons again.”
Since his firing, Napear has been hosting a Sacramento Kings podcast with longtime broadcast partner Jerry Reynolds. It’s tough for secondary sports stations in small markets to survive, especially if they don’t have broadcast rights to major pro or college teams.
But given his reputation, history, and ability to say anything, it’s likely that he will have plenty of listeners wondering what might happen when he returns to the airwaves.
About Matt Yoder