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The Portland Trail Blazers fired Braiden Bell just hours after hiring him as the new play-by-play announcer due to offensive social media posts from a decade ago. Bell’s tweets, discovered by KGW reporter, included derogatory language targeting women and an anti-Asian slur. The team cited zero tolerance for racist and sexist comments in their statement, emphasizing violation of league policies and values.
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 have dismissed play-by-play announcer Braiden Bell just hours after announcing his appointment to the role.
asserted
Blazers → dismiss → role
He was initially named Thursday as the replacement for long-serving caller Kevin Calabro, but was swiftly removed after social media posts made during his teenage years came to light.
asserted
posts → name → light
The messages, published on Twitter (now X) in late 2012 and early 2013, contained derogatory language targeting women as well as an insult directed at Asian people, despite Bell referring to himself as "not racist" in the same post.
asserted
Bell → publish → post
"The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments," the team said in a statement posted to social media later Thursday.
asserted
team → have → media
"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 franchise was alerted to the comments by a reporter from Portland television station KGW, who uncovered the posts and contacted the team for comment.
asserted
who → alert → comment
According to Bell's LinkedIn profile, he studied journalism at Arizona State from 2015 to 2019 before becoming the voice of Cal Baptist sports in autumn 2019.
He left that position in mid-2024 to commentate on games for Arizona State, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and the Valley Suns of the G League, having also made his debut covering Big 12 football for FS1 last autumn.
uncertain
He → accord → FS1
Bell has not commented publicly since his dismissal, though he had earlier shared his excitement about taking up the position.
asserted
he → comment → position
"Rip City — Wow, it's going to be an awesome ride!" he posted.
asserted
he → go → ?
"It's hard to describe the honor I'm feeling.
asserted
I → describe → honor
I can't wait to settle into this community & fanbase.
asserted
I → wait → community
"My goal is to make you proud every game and honor the incredible history & tradition of Blazers play-by-play.
asserted
you → make → play
His X account has since been made private.
asserted
account → make → ?
The team's official statement also contained an apology to their supporters.
"We did not meet our own bar in this process, and for that we apologize to Blazers fans and to Rip City," the Trail Blazers said.
asserted
Blazers → contain → City
"We strongly believe 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 → ?
The Trail Blazers begin their new campaign at home against the Phoenix Suns October 21.
asserted
Blazers → begin → Suns
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