Sunday, May 7, 2023

Glen Kuiper Future Probably Done as Oakland A's Broadcaster

"It's 60-40 he's gone, " a Bay Area TV Sports honcho told me about the status of Glen Kuiper, who was suspended after using the N-word in a much-pubbed broadcast on Friday night.

The Kuiper name has many tentacles in Bay Area MLB TV broadcasting. Especially when it comes to NBC Sports.

Kuiper's older brother, Duane, is, of course, the Giants TV broadcaster -and thier other brother, Jeff, has produced Giants' telecasts for nearly three decades.

So this episode involves more than a mere one brother. It will test the power of the Kuiper family name.

The A's and Comcast/NBC are proabably huddling this very minute to determine Glen's future. The indefinite suspension handed down on Saturday was, according to my sources, a chance to gage public opinion and read the tea leaves, so to speak.

Buy some time.

Sevreal broadcast people told me they believe Kuiper will get fired due to the nature of his verbal slip-up, a racial slur that was caught directly on video and is now viral.

"He's toast," a person close to the situation told me.

There's always the chance Glen Kuiper could come back if the bruhaha seems to blow away but that's not likely, at least for now.

"He used the 'n-word and it was an emphatic use of the word even if it came out accidently--it looked and sounded bad," said another broadcast official.

72 comments:

  1. Sorry to say I think Glen is burnt toast... can I say that?

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    1. No, burnt toast is acceptable

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  2. So very sad for Glen. Disgusting wokesters trying to ruin a man’s life.

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    1. WHat a bunch of hypocrites defending Glen. Give him a free pass--yet y'all wanted to keep Kaepernick out of the NFL...for exercising his right to free (and non-violent) rights to simply kneel during the national anthem??? Damn hypocrites. Y'all always like to talk about "freedom"--but it's actually SELECTIVE freedom that you REALLY want. In other words...freedom as defined by us White guys.

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  3. Sacrificial lamb for white guilt.

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  4. I liked Glen's PBP work, and he worked well with his broadcast partners. Unfortunate way to end an announcing career.

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  5. Meh. Sloppy enunciation? Or maybe Glen and his partner had a little more than bar-b-que (a few brewskis) before the game in Kansas City?? Either way as a broadcaster you know there can be no ambiguity when it comes to a word like that. Get it right...the first time. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. A museum that exists why? Because black players weren't allowed to play until the integration of MLB in 1947 with Jackie Robinson. Oh, the irony of it all.

    Do I think Glen Kuiper should be fired? Well, I like to look at the totality of one's history and reputation when it comes to job, community and race relations. I've never heard of any one speak poorly of Glen Kuiper in that regard. In fact if he were working today I'm sure he'd probably be eulogizing Vida Blue (RIP) on air with sincere and heartfelt tributes and flashbacks.

    And I also can't think of anyone who would want to sacrifice their lengthy broadcasting career by doing or saying something so patently offensive. After all, Thom Brennaman's gay slur screw up and subsequent firing was caused by what he said during what he thought was a commercial break with a hot mic. He wouldn't have dared say that on the air. Though it just goes to show you don't really know what's in a person's heart. As the comment was repulsive and deserving of firing, nonetheless.

    But we live in a viral world where people are getting canceled for both justified reasons as well as petty offenses like photobombing someone with the middle finger. So he'll probably get caught up in the modern day world of Twitter cancelation. He's already trending and catching a lot of smoke from people who probably never even heard of him before any of this. Kinda created his own bed, though. Sad that it had to end this way. Same with the A's abandoning Oakland for Vegas. Even the seagulls have stopped showing up to Coliseum games to avoid starvation. Live. Learn. Love. Grow. And I hope he's saved his money.

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    1. This is not the first time he's used the N-word on-air. Something tells me this is normal language around his peer group.

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    2. @2:08 completely unjustified to punish Glen. If he was another race, the narrative would have been different.

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    3. "And I also can't think of anyone who would want to sacrifice their lengthy broadcasting career by doing or saying something so patently offensive."

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1JYHNX8pdo

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  6. Dallas Braden should have been suspended too for his non reaction

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    1. Someone who doesn't even flinch when hearing the N-word tells me he's around people who uses that word and/or he uses that word as well.

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  7. Good riddance to bad rubbish. Anyone who uses such a vile term-- as that uttered by Glen Kuiper--is trash.

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  8. Glen grew up in a very white area and now lives in a very white area. Does that make him a racist? No, but my guess is that he's used the N-word before, and probably got his home vocabulary mixed up with his on-air vocabulary. Should he be fired? Probably not, but to save everyone from the PR nightmare, he's likely gone very soon.

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  9. Also don't forget Cole Kuiper too, who does the Summer Sunday Giants pre and postgame show that isn't that popular. LOL. He also does the Giants podcasts for NBC Sports Bay Area with Alex Pavlovic

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  10. It will be interesting to see if Duane Kuiper addresses this at some point this week, whether it's on his weekly interviews with Murph and Mac, or at some point on TV during this current Giants homestand. I think how Duane reacts to it could maybe factor in what happens with Glen Kuiper, whether he's fired, suspended for a longer period of time, or if he's just suspended for a couple of weeks.

    I'm sure Duane Kuiper isn't happy about this and obviously doesn't want to be attached to this by association, but at the time this is his brother. What do you do if you knew someone who did something like this, let alone a relative? I would assume he has probably talked to Glen Kuiper by now regarding this, even though I'm not sure often they talk to each other during the season, especially since the A's are normally on the road when the Giants are at home and vice versa.

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    1. Nobody listens anyway. Who cares.

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  11. The problem with cancelling everyone is that the people yelling the loudest seem to forget that they are just as human and imperfect as the people they are constantly pointing fingers at. We all live in glass houses - no exceptions.

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  12. Fired, no, fined, yes. A mistake but ive heard much worse on broadcasts

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  13. BREAKING: Those looking to be offended find things to be offended by. Has anyone pointed out or noticed that the vast majority of people on social media that are clutching their pearls or screaming for Kuiper's firing are virtue signaling caucasians?

    If anyone thinks Kuiper purposely said this is an idiot. He made an unfortunate speech flub. Had he said "brat" instead of "bat", no problem. Had he said "bitch" instead of "pitch", no worries. Kuiper has been calling games for the Athletics for 2 decades. So I guess 20 years of supporting the team and doing his best to call A's games should all be thrown by the wayside because he had a single speech flub? You virtue-signaling, thin-skinned sissies need to go listen to a comedy album by Sam Kinison, Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, or Dice Clay just so your heads can explode.

    And for all those calling for Kuiper's dismissal... raise your hand if you never accidently said a word you didn't intentionally mean to say. Now put your hand down, liar.

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    1. It's not a 'single speech flub.' Glen has used the N-word before on-air(the recording is on Twitter). Comedians using racist language is not an apples to apples comparison.

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    2. @5:49, perhaps you can hunt down the Twitter link for us, because I can't find it.

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    3. This was not the first time, buddy. https://twitter.com/_Nai_Roy/status/1654696339366891521

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  14. Does anyone remember Bill King saying "MFer" during a Warriors game back in the day? He thought he turned his mic off while getting ready to blast a NBA official for an awful call. He was reprimanded by the NBA but was able to keep his job. Afterward he would refer to the incident as Mothers Day.

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    1. Glen couldn't hold Bill King's jock strap and what Bill did was awesome! There's no comparison

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    2. @ 8:42 Neither would I, phew!!!!!!!

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  15. Rich, can you please delete any comment using the term Woke? Some asswipe can only write WOKE to describe something he does not like

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    1. 5:22 PM - Agree 100%...

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    2. What's woke is woke... no need to be upset over someone using a commonly used term.

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  16. Suspension for a week or two. Apology from Glen (without the 'if' I offended anyone). And then Glen comes back. No one discusses that he was trying to honor the heritage of the Black Baseball experience by going to the Negro League Museum during his off hours. Made a mistake, 'yes', deserves to be fired, 'no'.

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  17. When yr inside voice goes outside by mistake

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    1. The inside racist got exposed.

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  18. Too bad it wasn’t COLE Kuiper, or better yet, Carmen Kiew, who had that unfortunate slip of the tongue. Seeing their nepotistic, leeching asses get kicked off the air would be cause for celebration.

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  19. Add me to the list of people who believe firing Kuiper over a slip of the tongue is nothing less than insane.
    Let's be honest, the only reason Kuiper will (likely) lose his job over this is because of the color of his skin. If it had been Festus Ezili or Donte Whitner who made that one-time slip of the tongue during a Warriors or 49ers pre-game show, it would be a blip on the radar. There'd be no local or national media attention and certainly no calls for them to lose their livelihoods. No one would care because everyone would recognize it for what it was - an inadvertent slip of the tongue.
    Context matters. This wasn't a racist tirade. This wasn't a 'hot mic' moment. This wasn't Kuiper on his podcast telling us how he really feels about black people. No - he attempted to acknowledge visiting the Negro League museum and share with the audience how much he enjoyed the experience. He's a human being and had a slip of the tongue. The same type of thing could happen to anyone. Why on Earth are we going to destroy his life over this?

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    1. It’s a shame for him to loose his job!!! He is a great broadcaster and I want him back!!! We all aren’t perfect and we as humans make mistakes!!!! Please bring him back!!!

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  20. "black players weren't allowed to play until the integration of MLB in 1947 with Jackie Robinson." I would like to give a shout-out to Larry Doby, who integrated the American League three months after Robinson integrated the National League. Doby did not gave the benefit of Robinson's transition year in Montreal, but came right from the Negro League, where he had played on the championship team the previous year, fresh from military service.

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  21. 5:22, Yes lets censor anything that offends you! Here is the problem folks, woke idiots like 5.22!

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    1. Agree, that’s what’s wrong with the U S right now

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    2. Perhaps Rich's blog should come with "trigger word" warnings?

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  22. He made a mistake one time and does not deserve to be fired.

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    1. Something tells me the N-word is used often in the Kuiper household. He used the N-word on-air back in 2020, so during the Royals game, it was at least the 2nd time in public.
      In this clip, he pronounces Negro very clearly, followed by the N-word(2 distinctly different words)
      https://twitter.com/_Nai_Roy/status/1654696339366891521

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  23. Cowards calling for his head, truly sad.

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  24. Its too bad for Glenn Kuiper. He is a good guy and good announcer. He made a mistake but he at least apologize and admit it was a mistake. He should not be fired...

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    1. @8:14AM

      It wasn't a "mistake" and your "good guy" used the slur more than once--as evidenced by other clips that have since surfaced. He definitely deserves to be fired.

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  25. Fire. His. Ass.

    If you can't speak without "slipping" in a racial slur, you shouldn't be working in broadcasting. Don't fire him because he may or may not be a racist, fire his ass because he is definitely a moron.

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  26. It sounds longer than the n word, right? as in a garbled pronunciation of "negro leagues".

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    1. No, he clearly said "the word."

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  27. The Giants are a mess from the management, the coach and the team. Glen Kuiper made a big mistake, but in this world today mistakes are NOT allowed. This WOKE world does not believe in forgiveness or moving on after your punishment. Everything to them is "banishment forever". There is an exception. Commit a crime (theft, robbery, homicide, etc.) it's okay no punishment needed. When do they wake up?

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    1. 11:18 I bet you're not as forgiving to Kaepernick for taking a knee...or for Steph & Klay for supporting the BLM movement.

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    2. Are you saying Kaepernick made a mistake? As a QB he was terrible. The game in Seattle where he couldn't pass to the open receiver was the best example. If he was good, Kap would have had a job. To the NFL talent makes a difference. Do Steph and Klay need forgiveness? What did they do?

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  28. It’s difficult to be outraged over this accidental, inadvertent, and awful one-time slip of the tongue when the very people who claim to be harmed by this word’s usage are, in most instances, the same people who normalize, glamorize, and even romanticize the ‘N-word’ in mainstream music, television, and entertainment in general.
    If it’s harmful and hurtful and evocative of slavery and all of the historical wrongs and systemic oppression that ensued, then stop using the word casually. Let’s banish it from our collective lexicon, the same way words like ‘Oriental’ and ‘Negro’ have been marginalized and retired, including by those who would claim to be offended by them.
    Until then, no need to shower Kuiper with faux outrage or make him the latest and greatest human punching bag for virtue signalers.

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  29. I don’t care what anyone says, there is NO reason why this word should ever be uttered by a Caucasian male. NONE. It doesn’t matter if it’s intentional or otherwise. I don’t care if you are the “least racist” person in the history of mankind. I don’t care if it’s a “slip of the tongue,” as some on this blog have referred to it. That word should not be in the vocabulary of any caucasian man. PERIOD. Let alone one who gets paid to speak publicly for a living.
    Most words in the English language aren’t even known to the average person, much less in our individual vocabularies. That particular word shouldn’t even be in Glen Kuiper’s vocabulary, much less less roll off the tongue like the name of his first born.
    Allowing Kuiper to keep his job indicates that it is fine for a Caucasian man to refer to an entire class of people using a racial slur.

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    1. I'm sorry, but who are you, Mr. Anonymous, to dictate what anyone of any color should or shouldn't say?

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    2. The people who want to give him a pass have likely not been a victim of racism before, so how can they relate. You only feel the pain when you've been burned.

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    3. "The people who want to give him a pass have likely not been a victim of racism before, so how can they relate. You only feel the pain when you've been burned."

      Or maybe they have been. Repeatedly. But nobody listens to them because racism is only counted when it flows one way.

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  30. While Kuiper should probably be suspended, why are announcers who accidentally use profanity on the air given a pass? I remember Ralph Barbieri frequently using profane language when he didn’t think his mic was on. Because KNBR GM Tony Salvadore loved Ralph, he didn’t make a big deal about it. As a matter of fact, I once saw Salvadore and Radnich chortling about it in the hallway. Ralph was lucky to have a ‘patron’ who protected him. Glen Kuiper isn’t so fortunate. He’ll probably be fired. Remember long time Kings TV announcer Grant Napier was fired a couple of years ago for tweeting “ all lives matter”. If you’re on the air, you have to be careful and aware of what you say. Apparently no one initially reacted to Kuiper’s verbal insult until he apologized for it later during the broadcast. I don’t sports announcers can afford to be bigots, because there are a lot more minorities playing our major league team sports today than we we before.

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  31. Profanity is different than a racial slur

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  32. Remember when folks used to say: "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me". What a backwards society we have become. Now it's: "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will surly kill me". No one should use the "N" word, including blacks. Until this happens nothing will get resolved. Why do self respecting black folks use this word to describe themselves?

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  33. Getting rid of Glen Kuiper is a sad reality because the ‘ woke’ folks get offended by virtually ANYTHING that smacks of racism. And They want the rest of us to feel guilty about something that happened over 100 years ago!

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  34. The N word is painful right now, it is not OK, my 73 year old husband who loves the A’s, heard this real time and it took him right back to being a kid in TX and not being allowed across the railroad tracks to watch baseball teams in town..because he was black. Shut up about what you know nothing about. Just. Shut. Up.

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  35. 100 years ago was 1923, racism has been alive an active since then…do you live in a cave? Dumbest comment, stupidity, ignorance, deflection…uugh

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  36. Racism IS alive and well. And unfortunately you are seeing massive turf wars in LA between Hispanics and Blacks. Hispanics (the largest and growing population in the state and nation) use the word continuously. It's not going to get better but worse.

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  37. It was a mispronunciation sensation (thank you Tim Roye)... he obviously spoke too quickly and it game out the way it did. Glen is not a racist person... he has always been a good person and held the upmost professionalism. Is what he said bad? 100%! He should be fined and suspended for a decent amount of time. But to take the mans livelihood away over a slip up and because today's woke agenda is always looking for the next thing to be offended by is just purely asinine. The lack of compassion by some of these people on Twitter and on here is just sad. Those that are "outraged" need to find love and forgiveness and maybe look at themselves instead of always being outraged at others.

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  38. @7:15 AM
    What a laugh.
    The n-word isn't in a respectable person's vocab, therefore it's not uttered at all--let alone mispronounced. Glen--who's used the term before-- isn't a "good person" and he's certainly no victim.

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  39. They are two completely different words. They do not sound the same at all. He didn't stumble. He said the word that naturally came to him FIRST. No excuse. Even a stumble would have been bad, but to say the full word so naturally and keep talking?? He's toast, as he should be. May he never be on air again.

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  40. "The n-word isn't in a respectable person's vocab". Blacks use the word all the time. Double standards? Are you saying Blacks are not respectable?

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  41. Plenty of other Kuipers at NBC Sports that can take over for him. The place is nepotism central if you've got Kuiper DNA, no interview necessary.

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  42. Glen had a phenomenal day all right, it marked the end of his broadcasting career....

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