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Braiden Bell, former Trail Blazers play-by-play broadcaster, apologized on social media after being fired for racist and misogynistic posts from his X account that resurfaced shortly before his hiring was announced. The posts included derogatory comments about Asian people and used slurs to refer to women. Portland’s decision came hours after the announcement of Bell's hire to replace Kevin Calabro, following a discovery by a local journalist who informed the team. The Trail Blazers stated they have zero tolerance for such language and that Bell violated their policies and values.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-03,
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 now-former Trail Blazers play-by-play broadcaster Braiden Bell has spoken out for the first time since his Thursday firing.
asserted
broadcaster → speak → firing
Bell, who was axed just hours after Portland announced his hiring over resurfaced racist and misogynistic posts on X, posted an apology statement to social media on Friday.
asserted
Portland → ax → Friday
“I am deeply sorry for the language that I used on Twitter,” Bell wrote on X. “These tweets, while wrong, were written by me 14 years ago while I was only 15 years old and have no reflection of who I am today.
asserted
I → use → reflection
I do not take lightly any harm it causes now.
asserted
it → take → harm
“I regret this being my first impression to many of you online, but I can take solace in knowing that the people who truly know me understand that this is not the kind of person I am.
asserted
I → regret → person
Again, I’d like to apologize to anyone who was hurt by my words and will continue to always treat people with kindness and respect.”
asserted
who → like → kindness
The social media posts in question were posted from Bell’s X account in 2012 and ’13, and featured derogatory comments about “Asian people.”
asserted
posts → post → people
Bell, 29, also used the terms “wh—s” and “s–t” to refer to women in some posts.
asserted
Bell → use → posts
By Friday evening, posts using the inflammatory language were deleted from Bell’s X account when viewed by The Post.
asserted
posts → use → Post
According to KGW in Portland, one of its journalists previously discovered the posts and informed the Trail Blazers before Bell was fired.
uncertain
Bell → accord → Blazers
“The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments,” the Blazers said in a statement.
asserted
Blazers → have → 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.
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.”
It was announced that Portland hired Bell earlier on Thursday, who was brought on to replace Kevin Calabro, the longtime voice of the team.
asserted
who → do → team
Before being hired by the Trail Blazers, Bell called games for Cal Baptist and Arizona State on ESPN+.
asserted
Bell → hire → ESPN+
He then did play-by-play for the WNBA’s Mercury and the Suns’ G League team.
asserted
He → do → Mercury
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