Ex-Kings announcer Grant Napear loses wrongful termination case against broadcaster (2025)

Former Sacramento Kings broadcaster Grant Napear lost his bid to regain his radio talk show after a federal judge dismissed his wrongful termination lawsuit against KHTK-AM’s owner, court records show.

Napear lost his position at Sactown Sports 1140 in 2020, after posting “ALL LIVES MATTER ... EVERY SINGLE ONE!!!” on social media in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed man in Minneapolis. The tweet was widely interpreted as an expression of opposition to the growing Black Lives Matter movement, although Napear has denied that was his intent.

Napear’s case was formally ended last week in federal court in Sacramento after Judge Dale A. Drozd ruled that it would be unconstitutional to apply California labor laws protecting the political rights of employees to the company’s action in firing Napear.

Napear also lost his Kings television announcing job during the period of nationwide protests and outrage after Floyd’s murder by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, which was captured on video.

His controversial tweet came in response to a question from former Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, who asked for his views on Black Lives Matter. Napear has maintained that his post was intended to be inclusive and that he was unaware of the phrase’s use by critics of the movement, according to previous Bee reporting.

Following the post on Twitter, now known as X, the radio station placed Napear on leave, and he later separated from the Kings organization in what The Sacramento Bee reported as a resignation. He was fired shortly thereafter from his radio job.

Napear sued Bonneville International Corp., the owner of KHTK, claiming the company violated his right to religious freedom and violated California labor laws protecting political activity by employees. He argued that, as a Unitarian, he values the lives of all people and alleged discrimination by Bonneville, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Drozd dismissed that argument in 2023. On March 31, he issued a summary judgment dismissing the remainder of Napear’s lawsuit. In his ruling, Drozd wrote that the company’s choice of radio hosts fell under its First Amendment rights. Applying state labor law protections in this case, he concluded, would be unconstitutional.

Napear plans to appeal, his attorney Matthew Ruggles said Monday.

“We contend the ruling is incorrect,” Ruggles said. “We submitted substantial evidence demonstrating that Bonneville International Corporation terminated Grant Napear because of his political stance on BLM.”

Ruggles argued that Napear’s political position is protected under California labor law.

Napear had sought reinstatement and unspecified damages for emotional distress and punitive damages against Bonneville, according to court documents.

Since his firing, Napear moved to Florida and has continued providing sports commentary on his podcast, “If You Don’t Like That With Grant Napear,” where he opines on Kings games and the NBA.

This story was originally published April 7, 2025 at 12:25 PM.