NBA Wizards Announcer Apologizes to Houston's Kevin Porter Jr. for 'Pulled That Trigger' Call

Washington Wizards NBA announcer Glenn Consor has apologized to Houston Rockets player Kevin Porter Jr. for saying he "pulled that trigger" like "his father," who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old girl.

Consor said that he mistakenly assumed that Porter was the son of former NBA player Kevin Porter, who played for the then-Washington Bullets from 1979 to 1983. Porter's actual father was not an NBA player but did spend four years in prison following his 1990s manslaughter conviction and was later fatally shot while trying to help a friend during a bar fight in 2004, when the future professional basketball player was only 4 years old.

Consor's call during Wednesday night's Wizards-Rockets game sparked outraged from many on social media, including Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who called the remark "insensitive" and told Consor to "beat it" because "there's no place in our beautiful game for you."

Consor said that he wanted to "sincerely apologize to Kevin Porter Jr and clarify last night's call" while insisting that the gun reference was unintentional in a tweet a short time later.

"Please allow me to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to Kevin Porter Jr., and his family and the Rockets organization for the comments I made during last night's game," wrote Consor. "I mistakenly thought that Kevin was the son of former Washington player Kevin Porter and was unaware that the words that I chose to describe his game-winning shot would be in any way hurtful or insensitive."

"I have reached out to Kevin to personally apologize and hope to be able to talk with him soon," Consor added.

In the announcer's call, which was made during a slow-motion replay of Porter's buzzer-beating shot, Consor said that "Kevin Porter Jr., like his dad, pulled that trigger right at the right time ... boy, that one stung."

James later said that he stood by his tweet, condemning Consor for the remark despite his apology and the apparent mixup about the identity of Porter's father.

"I stand by my tweet and I stand by everything I said," James said during a press conference, explaining that Consor should have done his "due diligence" in researching whether Porter was indeed the son of the Washington player before calling the game.

James was not the only person who appeared to be unconvinced by Consor's apology, with many Twitter users responding to his tweet by pointing out that there was a 50-year age gap between Porter and the former Washington player. Some continued to call for the Wizards announcer to step down or be fired over the remark.

Newsweek reached out to the Houston Rockets for comment.