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MSNBC Reporter Issues Statement After Being Accused Of Saying ‘N-Word’ In Kobe Report: ‘NEVER’

   DailyWire.com
Kobe Bryant walk out to center court during his jersey retirement ceremony at halftime of a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center on December 18, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Harry How/Getty Images

An unfortunate flub by an MSNBC reporter during a report on the tragic death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Maria Onore, and seven others, sparked accusations of racism and demands online that she be fired after many interpreted her as supposedly dropping the “N-word.” The reporter, Alison Morris, has since issued a statement explaining what she actually said and why.

As reported by Grabien during a report Sunday on the helicopter crash in Calabasas that killed Bryant, Morris “somehow mixed up the ‘Los Angeles Lakers’ with what sounded to viewers like the ‘Los Angeles N*ggers.'”

Multiple clips of the flub went viral online and was met with outrage and calls for her firing (video below). Amid the firestorm over the unfortunate stutter, Morris posted a statement on Twitter Sunday explaining what she actually said and how she ended up uttering something sounding disastrously similar to a racial slur.

“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,” she tweeted. “Please know I did not & would NEVER use a racist term. I apologize for the confusion this caused.”

Morris’s explanation aligns with the video; indeed, before she even provided the “Nakers” explanation, many suggested the same, as noted by Grabien. “Some online have suggested she was mixing up ‘Knicks’ and ‘Lakers’ and instead said ‘Nakers.’ Another thought she might be saying ‘Knickers,’ which may be, but is also not usually how the Knicks are referred to.”

But some are still insisting Morris dropped the N-word in the report:

Grabien also notes that the broadcast appears to have been on a 15-second delay, some of the markets broadcasting the report containing “15 seconds of silence” where the flub occurred.

As The Daily Wire reported, many high-profile figures have weighed in on the untimely death of Bryant and his daughter, including President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, former President Barack Obama, Bryant’s former teammate Shaquille O’Neil, and entertainer Kanye West.

“Reports are that basketball great Kobe Bryant and three others have been killed in a helicopter crash in California,” President Trump tweeted Sunday. “That is terrible news!”

“Thoughts and prayers to the family of #Kobe Bryant and those who lost loved ones in today’s tragic crash,” wrote Melania Trump. “Rest In Peace.”

“Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act,” Obama wrote. “To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. Michelle and I send love and prayers to Vanessa and the entire Bryant family on an unthinkable day.”

“There’s no words to express the pain Im going through with this tragedy of loosing my neice Gigi & my brother [Kobe Bryant],” tweeted O’Neal, who included four photos of him and Kobe together. “I love u and u will be missed. My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. IM SICK RIGHT NOW”

“Kobe, We love you brother,” West wrote. “We’re praying for your family and appreciate the life you’ve lived and all the inspiration you gave.”

Related: Kobe, A Devout Catholic, Reportedly Attended Mass Morning Of Accident

 

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