The Portland Trail Blazers have fired their new play-by-play broadcaster on the same day he was hired after misogynistic and racist social media posts shared when he was a teenager resurfaced.
Braiden Bell was only hired by the NBA franchise on Thursday, but he was axed just hours later after the shocking posts were discovered by KGW in Portland.
The vile posts were shared in 2012 and 2013, when it’s believed Bell was only 15-years-old, and were posted on the account that he still uses for sports commentary.
‘I’m not racist at all.. But not gonna lie.. Asian people p*** me off! Hahaha #honest,’ a post from December 2012 reads.
Another, from November 2012, says: ‘Gotta give a shoutout to all the big girls out there and those closet whores.’
‘We got a slut alert on aisle 10,’ Bell also posted in February 2013. In the same month, he tweeted: ‘Girls these nights… Smh. #ThirstyForTheD.’
Braiden Bell has been fired by the Trail Blazers after controversial historic posts resurfaced
Reporters uncovered racist posts shared by Bell when he was a teenager in December 2012
Misogynistic posts were also found, leading the NBA team to fire him on the day they hired him
The vile posts were shared on the same account that Bell still uses to comment on sports
While reviewing Bell’s social media activity, KGW found that by the end of 2015 his posts were almost entirely focused on sports.
‘The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments,’ the team said in a 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. Therefore, we will not be moving forward with this 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.
‘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.’
Bell was hired as a replacement for Kevin Calabro, who had been the Trail Blazers’ play-by-play voice since 2016. He left for the Minnesota Timberwolves after he said he was offered a ‘subprime’ contract by the Trail Blazers to stay.
It comes after a tumultuous offseason for the franchise that included cuts by the new owner, squabbles over the renovation of the team’s arena, the hiring of a new coach and the addition of Ja Morant.
Bell (above) had been hired to replace Kevin Calabro, who left for the Minnesota Timberwolves
It continues a rocky offseason for Portland, although they do have veteran Damian Lillard back
Tom Dundon became the face of the Blazers’ new ownership group before the end of last season, when the team went to the playoffs for the first time in five years. In the offseason, the Blazers laid off more than 70 staffers.
Tiago Splitter, an assistant who was promoted to head coach when Chauncey Billups was arrested last fall in a federal gambling probe, bolted for the Chicago Bulls this summer. The Blazers hired Micah Nori, who was an assistant with the Timberwolves.
Portland surprised many in late June by trading Jerami Grant and Kris Murray to the Grizzlies in exchange for Morant, a two-time All-Star who had a rocky tenure in Memphis.
One positive, however, is that Damian Lillard returns to play after a torn Achilles tendon sidelined him for all of last season.
Last summer, Lillard rejoined the Blazers, where he played for his first 11 seasons, after a two-year stint with the Milwaukee Bucks.
