Trail Blazers Broadcaster's Lawyer Demands Reinstatement Over Teenage Tweets

The legal team for former Portland Trail Blazers play-by-play announcer Braiden Bell is calling for his reinstatement after the team terminated his contract just hours after announcing his hiring. Bell, 29, was fired due to social media posts he made when he was 15 years old.

Bell's attorney, Arnie Herz, who has previously represented other sports broadcasters in similar situations, stated that the tweets from 2012 and 2013, which contained racial slurs, should not dictate Bell's future. The tweets included statements such as, "I’m not racist at all.. But not gonna lie.. Asian people p— me off! Hahaha #Honest" and "no blacks either. #racist."

In a statement, Herz argued that Bell has taken responsibility for his past words and demonstrated significant personal growth since then. "Should the worst words a fifteen-year-old ever wrote decide the rest of his life? That is the question now before the Portland Trail Blazers," the statement read. "Braiden is not asking anyone to excuse what he wrote. He has owned it, without excuses. What he is asking is whether a boy’s words from fourteen years ago should outweigh everything the man has done since. If that is the standard, there is hardly a person in any organization in America who could meet it. Accountability means owning what you did and showing who you have become. Braiden has done both."

Bell himself issued an apology for the posts, stating, "I am deeply sorry for the language that I used on Twitter. 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. I do not take lightly any harm it causes now. I regret this being the 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. Again, I’d like to apologize to anyone who was hurt by my words and will continue to always treat people with kindness and respect."

The Trail Blazers, who had hired Bell to replace Kevin Calabro and make him the NBA's youngest lead broadcaster, stated that they have "zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments." The team cited team and league policies as the reason for the termination and acknowledged that they "did not meet our own bar in this process." They added, "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."

In response to calls for reinstatement, the Trail Blazers reaffirmed their decision, telling The Athletic, "We stand by our statement issued last week and have no further comment at this time. We wish Mr. Bell the best."