Braiden Bell Fired by Trail Blazers After Racist, Misogynistic Tweets Surface
The NBA franchise terminates play-by-play announcer's contract hours after hiring him due to offensive posts made as a teenager.
Braiden Bell has been fired as the play-by-play announcer for the Portland Trail Blazers following the discovery of racist and misogynistic social media posts he made as a teenager. The NBA franchise terminated Bell's contract just hours after announcing his hiring, citing a violation of team and league policies.
"The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments," the team said in a statement. "Social media posts made by our recently announced play-by-play broadcaster are in clear violation of team and league policies, as well as our values and expectations. Therefore, we will not be moving forward with this broadcaster."
Bell issued an apology on X, formerly Twitter, acknowledging the posts and stating they were made 14 years ago when he was 15 years old. "These tweets, while wrong, were written by me 14 years ago while I was only 15 years old and have no reflection of who I am today," Bell wrote. "I do not take lightly any harm it causes now. I regret this being my first impression to many of you online, but I can take solace in knowing that the people who truly know me understand that this is not the kind of person I am."
The posts, unearthed by KGW in Portland, included racist remarks about Asian people and misogynistic comments about women, shared between December 2012 and February 2013. Bell's account was still being used for sports commentary at the time of his hiring.
The Trail Blazers expressed regret for their vetting process, stating, "We did not meet our own bar in this process, and for that we apologize to Blazers fans and to Rip City. We believe strongly that everyone who is a part of Rip City should feel welcome and safe and we will make sure that our new broadcaster reflects these values. We will do better."
Bell was hired to replace Kevin Calabro, who had served as the Trail Blazers' play-by-play voice since 2016 before leaving for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The team is navigating a turbulent offseason that has included staff cuts under new owner Tom Dundon, arena renovation disputes, and coaching changes. The acquisition of two-time All-Star Ja Morant and the return of Damian Lillard after injury are notable events for the franchise.