Portland Trail Blazers dismiss newly hired announcer after old offensive tweets surface
Braiden Bell was terminated by the Trail Blazers hours after being hired when a local TV report highlighted several offensive tweets he posted as a teenager.
The Portland Trail Blazers announced the hiring of Braiden Bell as a play-by-play announcer on Thursday, but reversed the decision later that day after KGW, a Portland television station, reported a series of tweets Bell posted in 2012 and 2013 when he was 15 years old. The tweets, which included misogynistic and racist remarks, were described by the station as offensive.
Bell, who had previously worked as a broadcaster for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and the NBA G League’s Valley Suns, had not posted any similar content since early 2013, according to KGW’s review of his social-media history.
"Braiden's tweets at 15 do not reflect the person I know. I'm a big believer in not letting a poor decision or short timespan define a person's body of life work," wrote former sports columnist Paola Boivin on X.
The Blazers said the decision was made after reviewing the material and determining it was inconsistent with the organization’s values. The incident has sparked discussion about the relevance of teenage social-media activity to professional employment decisions.