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The Portland Trail Blazers hired Braiden Bell as their lead TV announcer but fired him hours later due to racist and sexist tweets he posted when he was a teenager between 2012 and 2014. The team cited violation of league policies and their own values in terminating Bell, despite the posts being made before he reached adulthood. Critics on social media argued that punishing someone for youthful indiscretions is excessive and questioned whether these old tweets accurately reflect his current beliefs or behavior.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-02,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Braiden Bell, who was hired as the new television play-by-play broadcaster for the Portland Trail Blazers on November 23, 2023, was fired hours after his hiring due to offensive social media posts from when he was a teenager. The posts, which included derogatory comments about "Asian people" and used slurs towards women, were discovered by a journalist at KGW News in Portland shortly before the Blazers' announcement. In response, the team released a statement declaring their zero-tolerance policy for racist, sexist, or harmful content and noted that Bell’s posts violated league policies and values.
Bell, now 29 years old, apologized on social media for his past language but emphasized it was from when he was 15 and does not reflect who he is today. Despite the apology, the Blazers did not reconsider their decision, citing the seriousness of the violations against team standards and expectations. The incident highlights ongoing debates about accountability for past online behavior versus opportunities for personal growth and redemption.
Written for “Trail Blazers Announcer Firing Over P…” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.
The Portland Trail Blazers fired 29-year-old Braiden Bell on Thursday, just hours after naming him their lead TV announcer, over decade-old social media posts he made when he was a teenager.
asserted
he → fire → posts
Bell, who over from the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury to replace veteran Kevin Calabro as the youngest primary broadcaster in the NBA, was out of a job before he even put on a headset.
asserted
he → over → headset
The firing came after local station KGW unearthed tweets from Bell's account written between 2012 and 2014.
asserted
KGW → come → 2012
In a December 2012 post, a 15-year-old Bell wrote, "I'm not racist at all..
asserted
I → write → post
Asian people piss me off!
asserted
people → piss → me
In July 2013, he added, "no blacks either.
asserted
he → add → blacks
He also appeared to make disparaging remarks about women in some posts.
asserted
He → appear → posts
The Trail Blazers didn’t hesitate as they essentially hired Bell, announced him and fired him hours later.
asserted
they → hesitate → him
Panicking in real time, Blazers executives skipped administrative leave and terminated Bell that evening with an official statement:
"The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments.
asserted
Blazers → panic → 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.
asserted
posts → make → policies
Therefore, we will not be moving forward with this broadcaster.
asserted
we → move → 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.
asserted
we → carry → exception
We did not meet our own bar in this process, and for that we apologize to Blazers fans and to Rip City.
asserted
we → meet → 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.
asserted
broadcaster → believe → values
We will do better."
asserted
We → do → ?
Some critics on social media were quick to call out the Blazers' panic and surrender to online outrage over 10th-grade tweets.
asserted
critics → call → tweets
This guy's career may have just been ruined.
uncertain
career → ruin → ?
Before he even graduated high school.
asserted
he → graduate → school
Did he post something stupid as a stupid kid?
asserted
he → post → kid
Or do we really believe those posts as a child reflect who he is as an adult?
asserted
he → believe → adult
Do ppl even care or do we just want blood?
asserted
we → care → blood
Is this really what we want?"
asserted
we → want → what
Another user accused the team of "virtue signaling by the franchise to hang this over his head and destroy his career over it."
The Trailblazers did not immediately respond to OutKick's request for comment.
asserted
Trailblazers → accuse → comment
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