Kevin Porter Jr. hit a magical buzzer-beater for the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, but a comment made by a Washington Wizards broadcaster just after is drawing considerably more attention, and for all the wrong reasons.
Right after Porter sunk the buzzer-beater that lifted the Rockets over the Washington Wizards, longtime Wizards broadcaster Glenn Consor made a comment about Porter’s father that sounded extremely inappropriate.
According to USA Today, Porter’s father, Bryan Kevin Porter Sr., spent 4 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the 1993 shooting death of a 14-year-old girl. In 2004, Porter Jr. was 4 when his father was shot multiple times and killed after trying to help a woman who was being attacked in a Seattle bar. So obviously any comment about Porter’s father “pulling the trigger” is both tasteless and unprofessional.
Consor’s comment sparked shock, but LeBron James had an especially strong reaction when he found out about it Thursday morning.
Could Consor’s comment be a mix-up?
It’s possible that Consor made a tremendously unfortunate mix-up with his comment.
There’s another Kevin Porter who played in the NBA in the 1970s and early 1980s. He was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets in 1972, a team which eventually changed their name to the Washington Bullets and later the Washington Wizards. He ended up playing six seasons for the Bullets over two different stints.
Consor has been a broadcaster for the Wizards for over 20 years, and spent several years with the team as a scout, so he would be familiar with Kevin Porter. Given their names, Consor might have made the assumption that they’re father and son, but that Kevin Porter is not the father of Kevin Porter Jr.
And according to Consor, that’s exactly what happened. He released a statement Thursday morning to apologize and explain what was behind his comment, and indeed he did mistakenly assume that Kevin Porter Jr. was the son of Kevin Porter
