Trail Blazers Fire Broadcaster Hours After Hiring Amid Resurfaced Racist Posts
Braiden Bell was dismissed after past social media comments made as a teenager surfaced, leading the team to cite a zero-tolerance policy for harmful language.
The Portland Trail Blazers have fired Braiden Bell, the team's newly announced television play-by-play broadcaster, just hours after his hiring was made public. The decision came following the resurfacing of social media posts from Bell's teenage years that contained racist and misogynistic language.
The objectionable posts originated from 2012 and 2013, when Bell was approximately 15 years old. Among the comments were remarks about "Asian people" and the use of derogatory terms to refer to women.
KGW, a Portland news outlet, reported that one of its journalists identified the posts and contacted the Trail Blazers for comment before the team issued a statement. The team confirmed Bell's dismissal, stating that "The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments." The statement further indicated that Bell's posts were in clear violation of team and league policies, as well as the organization's values.
"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," the Blazers said in their statement. "Therefore, we will not be moving forward with this broadcaster."
The team acknowledged shortcomings in their vetting process, apologizing to fans. "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's X (formerly Twitter) account still contained the posts as of late Thursday night, according to reports. One post from December 2012 read, "I’m not racist at all.. But not gonna lie.. Asian people piss me off! Hahaha #Honest." Another post from earlier that year mentioned "big girls" and "closet w—s," while a February 2013 post contained the phrase "slut alert on aisle 10."
KGW noted that no offensive posts were found from Bell's adult years. Bell, 29, is a 2019 graduate of Arizona State University and had previously worked for Cal Baptist and ASU on ESPN+, as well as handling play-by-play duties for the Phoenix Suns' G League team and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury.
Bell was hired to replace Kevin Calabro, the long-time voice of the Trail Blazers, who departed after receiving what he described as a "subprime" contract offer. Bell has not publicly commented on his dismissal.