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Tongue-tied MSNBC anchor accused of using N-word while covering Kobe Bryant’s death a bizarre scandal

January 27, 2020 | | Print Article
Screengrab MSNBC

An unfortunate side story to the tragic death of retired Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was an MSNBC anchor mangling her words to make it seem like she uttered a racial epithet.

But then, in post-Obama America, it doesn’t take much to stir passions when it comes to race.

Emotions were raw throughout the day Sunday, as it was learned that Bryant, 41, the legendary basketball player who played in Los Angeles for 20 years, died suddenly in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, Calif. Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others also perished in the crash.

MSNBC anchor Alison Morris was covering the tragedy and was offering high praise for Bryant, an iconic player who touched the lives of many, when she got tongue-tied while trying to say the “Los Angeles Lakers.”

What came out sounded much like the “Los Angeles N***ers,” according to some — as ridiculous as that may be, given the solemn occasion and her effusive praise of Bryant.

As seen in the clips below, the network appeared to censor the gaffe in some markets, but not in all.

There was so much outrage over what Morris said, she took to social media to try to explain that she “stuttered” while saying the Lakers name, mistakenly starting off by saying the Knicks, which is the name of the NBA team in New York.

To many, it sounded as if she said “Knakers,” or Knikers… but for others, they heard the N-word, insisting there was a “g” being pronounced, not a “k.”

“Earlier today, while reporting on the tragic news of Kobe Bryant’s passing, I unfortunately stuttered on air, combining the names of the Knicks and the Lakers to say “Nakers.” Please know I did not & would NEVER use a racist term. I apologize for the confusion this caused,” Morris tweeted.

Again, emotions were extremely raw over the unexpected death of a well-like former player.

Nowhere was this more apparent than in the response seen from Doc Rivers, a former player and now head coach in the NBA. Rivers broke down multiple times while trying to talk with reporters about Bryant.

Some would suggest that race relations in America were set back a half-century after the divisive presidency of Barack Obama, beginning with a remark about how police “acting stupidly” when confronting a belligerent black Harvard professor — coming less than six months into Obama’s first term.

But then, leave it to the progressive left to soil a great milestone in American history, that being the election of the first black man as president.

As for the hypersensitive state of race relations today, a fitting assessment may be the old saying: “To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”

As for Morris, the outrage machine cranked up into high gear in a nano-second, with many calls for her to be fired.

A petition launched on Change.org calling for Morris to be canned has garnered close to 14,000 signatures as of this writing.

The petition reads:

“On January 26, 2020 the world lost basketball legend & icon, Kobe Bryant. Alison Morris of MSNBC News think its ok to use a racial slur at this period of time! What she said was not Accident but on PURPOSE because she paused before she said ” Los Angeles Ni***** ” We need to join together to get her fired because Enough is Enough & we will not tolerate this Racist BS anymore!”

 

Here’s a sampling of responses from some taking offense — *Caution: Offensive Language.

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Tom Tillison
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