A former Portland Trail Blazers broadcaster lost his dream job hours after attaining it after racist comments from his teenage years resurfaced online.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Braiden Bell was fired hours after the Trail Blazers announced him as the new play-by-play announcer. His release was prompted by posts made on X (formerly known as Twitter), in which Bell made derogatory comments about Asian people and used the terms "sluts" and "wh---s" to describe women.
The social media posts were made between 2012 and 2013, when Bell was roughly 15 years old.
KGW reporter Devon Haskins was the first to spot the troublesome tweets. KGW was in the process of reporting a story on the tweets Thursday afternoon and reached out to the Blazers for comment. The team replied several hours later, saying they had fired Bell.
Trail Blazers Explain Decision to Fire Broadcaster
"The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments," the Blazers said in a statement. "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 play-by-play role carries a long legacy of excellence, on the broadcast and in character, and we hold that standard without exception. We did not meet our own bar in this process. 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. We will make sure that our new broadcaster reflects these values."
Bell was hired to replace longtime Trail Blazers broadcaster, Kevin Calabro.
Bell graduated from Arizona State in 2019 and called games for Cal Baptist and then ASU on ESPN+. He later began doing play-by-play for the Suns' G League team and then the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury.
A play-by-play will not be the only new addition for the Blazers this season. Nike signature athlete Ja Morant will make his Blazers debut this season after joining the team in a blockbuster trade.
