Trail Blazers Fire Announcer Over Teen-Aged Tweets

The Portland Trail Blazers terminated play-by-play announcer Braiden Bell on Thursday, less than 12 hours after hiring him, following the resurfacing of tweets he posted when he was 15 years old. The team's decision came after KGW Portland reported on the decade-old social media posts.

The tweets in question, shared in November 2012 and February 2013, included offensive language and sentiments. One tweet from November 2012 read, "Gotta give a shoutout to all the big girls out there and those closet w----s #BigUps." Less than a month later, Bell tweeted, "I'm not racist at all...But not gonna lie...Asian people piss me off! Hahaha #Honest." Other posts from February 2013 included "We got a sl-t alert on aisle 10" and "Girls these nights...Smh #ThirstyForTheD."

Critics argue that holding individuals accountable for remarks made during adolescence, particularly when those remarks were made over a decade prior and the individual has since matured, is an exercise in cruelty. Commentator Jason Whitlock noted on X that "Virtually everything that came out of my mouth at 15 was a fireable offense. Amazing, sad story."

KGW's reporting on the tweets has drawn criticism, with some questioning the public good served by unearthing such old posts and reporting them to the team. Following the backlash, KGW reporters involved in the story, including Devon Haskins, John Tierney, Alma McCarty, and Jared Cowley, reportedly closed their direct messages on X or removed contact information, actions perceived by some as indicative of a lack of confidence in their reporting.

The Trail Blazers' swift action has also been contrasted with other situations, such as the team's decision to trade for player Ja Morant, who faced a 25-game suspension for displaying a firearm on social media. Columnists have pointed to instances like comedian Shane Gillis, who was fired from "Saturday Night Live" for past offensive remarks but has since achieved significant career success, and Kevin Hart, who stepped down from hosting the Oscars due to past homophobic comments but continued to have a lucrative career, as examples of public forgiveness for past transgressions.

Bell had previously been announcing games for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and the G League's Valley Suns without controversy. The team's decision to fire him so quickly after hiring has led to discussions about the media's role in "cancel culture" and the long-term consequences of past online activity.