Portland Trail Blazers game-by-game announcer Kevin Calabro announced that he would resign his role with the team on Wednesday. Calabro joined the Blazers ahead of the 2016-17 season alongside former Oregon state guard Lamar Hurd. When the news of Calabro’s departure came out, Hurd posted a moving tribute to his former television partner on Twitter:
November 15, 2016 comes to mind as you reflect on @KevinCalabro. The Chicago Bulls were making their visit to Portland, with Kevin and I less than a month from our first season together. In the previous game, @TurnerSportsEJ led a group in the TNT studio that he wanted
– Lamar Hurd (@L_Hurd) July 2, 2020
interview Kevin. TNT only asked for Kevin, which made sense considering the fact that he was seen as a legend returning to an NBA team, and also because TNT simply didn’t need to speak to me. However, Kevin told our television team to report to TNT that
– Lamar Hurd (@L_Hurd) July 2, 2020
The only way I would do the interview with them is if they included me in the interview with him. I immediately said “no, I’m fine, YOU are the one they want to talk to, and I’m fine with that!” Kevin said “no, we will do it together”. So we did it. And this is how our broadcasts
– Lamar Hurd (@L_Hurd) July 2, 2020
operate: a team led by a hall of fame member who always made it clear that we were together. More than her big calls, unlimited vocabulary, and wild explorations outside of the day, I will miss her every time on the team plane … or in a diversity / fairness / inclusion class … or during the media room
– Lamar Hurd (@L_Hurd) July 2, 2020
dinner … (or wherever!) … that he was the loudest person in the room expressing his disgust at many of the mistakes and injustices we see in the world. He stood up, and still stands, for people who need his voice. Our broadcast family will miss him very much.
– Lamar Hurd (@L_Hurd) July 2, 2020
Calabro shared his thanks for the good wishes after his announcement:
Thanks for all the kind words and feelings. We simply decided to press the pause button and move forward a bit. The gods of basketball have smiled in our house.
– Kevin Calabro (@KevinCalabro) July 1, 2020
Blazers TV studio host Jordan Kent will take on the role of Calabro for the remainder of the season.
