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Napear v. Bonneville International Corporation — 9th Cir. (argued August 14, 2026)

No. 25-2818 Argued August 14, 2026 Published August 15, 2026; updated August 18, 2026

The Ninth Circuit hears Grant Napear's appeal from summary judgment for Bonneville International. Napear hosted a daily KHTK sports show and announced Sacramento Kings games. After former Kings player DeMarcus Cousins asked his view of Black Lives Matter, Napear replied, ‘All lives matter, every single one.’ Bonneville fired him two days later. Napear invokes California laws protecting employees' political activity. The district court held that applying those laws here would violate Bonneville's First Amendment right to choose its on-air voice. The panel asks whether it can reach that constitutional issue without first deciding whether the state laws cover the firing.

Napear v. Bonneville International Corporation (No. 25-2818) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued August 14, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (public domain, 17 U.S.C. § 105):https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/media/2026/08/14/25-2818.mp3
Argument listing — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit:https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/cases/streams-videos/archive?case=25-2818&hearingDate=2026-08-14
District court record and summary-judgment order — GovInfo:https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCOURTS-caed-2_21-cv-01956
Counsel filing — U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California:https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-caed-2_21-cv-01956/pdf/USCOURTS-caed-2_21-cv-01956-3.pdf
Independent case report — Sacramento Bee:https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article303678436.html
Independent case report — Courthouse News Service:https://www.courthousenews.com/ex-radio-host-for-sacramento-kings-loses-all-lives-matter-discrimination-lawsuit/
Counsel profile — Matthew Ruggles, Ruggles Law Firm:https://ruggleslawfirm.com/about/our-team/
Counsel profile — David J. Jordan, Foley & Lardner:https://www.foley.com/people/jordan-david-j/

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