The Portland Trail Blazers terminated their newly hired television play-by-play broadcaster, Braiden Bell, just hours after announcing his hiring. This decision came after offensive posts from Bell's past, dating back to 2012 and 2013, resurfaced on social media, which included racist and misogynistic comments.
KGW in Portland reported that a journalist discovered the posts and contacted the Trail Blazers for comment prior to the team's announcement of Bell's firing.
In a statement, the Trail Blazers emphasized their commitment to a zero-tolerance policy regarding racist and sexist remarks. They stated, "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 statement continued, "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, 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."
As of late Thursday night, some of the objectionable posts remained visible on Bell's X account. One post from December 9, 2012, stated, "I’m not racist at all.. But not gonna lie.. Asian people piss me off! Hahaha #Honest." Another post from February 13, 2013, read, "We got a slut alert on aisle 10."
KGW noted that it did not find any offensive posts from Bell during his adult years. Bell had been hired to succeed Kevin Calabro, the long-time voice of the Trail Blazers, who left after receiving a contract offer he considered inadequate. Bell graduated from Arizona State in 2019 and had previously called games for Cal Baptist and ASU on ESPN+, as well as working with the Suns’ G League team and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. Bell has not publicly commented on his termination.