Portland Trail Blazers dismiss newly hired play-by-play announcer after teen social media posts surface
The Trail Blazers terminated Braiden Bell hours after hiring him when racist and sexist posts from his teenage years were uncovered, citing a zero-tolerance policy.
Portland announced Thursday that it had terminated Braiden Bell, a 29-year-old play-by-play announcer, only hours after appointing him to replace longtime broadcaster Kevin Calabro. The decision followed the discovery of racist and misogynistic posts on Bell’s social-media account from 2012 and 2013, when he was a teenager.
"The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist or harmful comments. 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," the team said in a statement. The team added that the role demands a high standard of character and apologized to fans for the oversight. The offensive tweets were identified by local outlet KGW; no similar content was found after Bell turned 18, and his account has been private since Friday. Before the brief stint with Portland, Bell provided play-by-play commentary for the Phoenix Mercury and the G-League’s Valley Sun. The Blazers are overhauling their television staff under new owner Tom Dundon and must name a replacement before the season opener on Oct. 21 against the Phoenix Suns.