The Portland Trail Blazers fired newly hired play-by-play announcer Braiden Bell after offensive tweets from when he was 15 years old resurfaced online. Bell, now 29, had been set to become the NBA’s youngest lead broadcaster but was let go shortly after his hiring announcement. His legal team is demanding reinstatement, arguing that past mistakes should not dictate current professional opportunities. The Trail Blazers maintain their decision aligns with their policies and values against harmful comments.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The Portland Trail Blazers fired their newly hired television play-by-play broadcaster Braiden Bell hours after announcing his hiring due to racist and misogynistic posts from his teenage years. The posts, made on X (formerly Twitter) between 2012 and 2013 when Bell was around 15 years old, included derogatory comments about "Asian people" and used terms like "slut" in reference to women. KGW in Portland uncovered these posts before the Blazers officially terminated Bell's employment. The team stated they have a zero-tolerance policy for such comments, violating both league policies and their own values. Bell later apologized on X, saying his past tweets do not reflect who he is today. His legal team has since demanded his reinstatement, arguing that a teenager’s words from fourteen years ago should not dictate the rest of his professional life.
Written for “Fired Announcer Teen Tweets” on 2026-10-06,
grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.
Former Portland Trail Blazers play-by-play announcer Braiden Bell and his attorney are calling for his reinstatement after the team fired him hours after announcing his hiring over decade-old social media posts.
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team → call → posts
Bell, 29, was hired from the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury to replace Kevin Calabro, becoming the NBA’s youngest lead broadcaster.
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Bell → hire → Calabro
But the Blazers terminated his contract after tweets he wrote at age 15 resurfaced online.
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he → terminate → age
In December 2012, Bell tweeted, "I’m not racist at all..
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I → tweet → December
Asian people p— me off!
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people → p → me
In July 2013, he posted, "no blacks either.
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he → post → blacks
Bell retained sports employment attorney Arnie Herz, who previously represented San Antonio Spurs broadcaster Jacob Tobey in his reinstatement after a team suspension.
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who → retain → suspension
In a statement provided to OutKick, Herz called for the Blazers to bring Bell back to the booth.
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Blazers → provide → booth
"Should the worst words a fifteen-year-old ever wrote decide the rest of his life?
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old → write → life
That is the question now before the Portland Trail Blazers," the statement read in part.
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statement → read → part
"Braiden is not asking anyone to excuse what he wrote.
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he → ask → what
He has owned it, without excuses.
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He → own → excuses
What he is asking is whether a boy’s words from fourteen years ago should outweigh everything the man has done since.
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man → ask → everything
If that is the standard, there is hardly a person in any organization in America who could meet it.
uncertain
who → be → it
Accountability means owning what you did and showing who you have become.
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you → mean → what
Braiden has done both."
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Braiden → do → both
Bell also apologized for the posts in a statement.
"
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Bell → apologize → statement
I am deeply sorry for the language that I used on Twitter.
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I → use → Twitter
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.
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I → write → reflection
I do not take lightly any harm it causes now.
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it → take → harm
I regret this being the 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.
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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."
The Blazers fired Bell without placing him on administrative leave, citing team and league policies in a statement confirming the decision.
"
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Blazers → like → decision
The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments.
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Blazers → have → 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.
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posts → make → values
Therefore, we will not be moving forward with this broadcaster.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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broadcaster → believe → values
We will do better."
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We → do → ?
In response to the calls for reinstatement, the Trail Blazers reaffirmed their decision in a statement to The Athletic.
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Blazers → reaffirm → Athletic
We stand by our statement issued last week and have no further comment at this time.
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We → stand → time
We wish Mr. Bell the best."
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We → wish → best
The Aporia
