Portland Trail Blazers let go of new play-by-play voice Braiden Bell mere hours after hiring him Thursday, the team announced. Talk about a wild turn of events.
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Bell was all set to replace longtime broadcaster Kevin Calabro. But then, right after the hire, the Blazers apparently found some racist and misogynistic posts on his social media account. Get this: the posts were from way back in 2012 and 2013, when Bell was just a teenager. He’s 29 now. News outlet KGW was the one that initially found the tweets, and they noted that from 2015 on, his account focused almost exclusively on sports, with no offensive posts. As of Friday night, Bell’s account had been made private. Before this whole mess, Bell had been the play-by-play guy for the Phoenix Mercury and the G-League’s Valley Sun.
Portland’s Back to Square One as Season Kicks Off Soon
The Blazers were quick to release a statement, making it clear they have “zero tolerance for racist, sexist or harmful comments.” They said Bell’s old social media posts were a “clear violation of team and league policies, as well as our values and expectations.” So, yeah, they’re not moving forward with him. The team even issued an apology to Blazers fans and to “Rip City,” admitting they “did not meet our own bar in this process.” They’re promising to “do better” and make sure their next broadcaster reflects their values of welcome and safety. This is a huge headache for Portland, especially since they were already overhauling most of their television operation this season. Veteran broadcasters like Calabro weren’t even retained by new owner Tom Dundon. Now, with less than three weeks until the 2026-27 season kicks off, the Blazers are back to square one, needing to find a new play-by-play voice.
Their season starts October 21st at home against the Phoenix Suns. Good luck to Portland finding the right voice with the clock ticking!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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