The Portland Trail Blazers did something truly wild on Thursday, introducing their new play-by-play announcer in the morning only to fire him just a few hours later. Braiden Bell, who had previously spent two seasons with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and also worked in college ranks, was the man caught in this absolute whirlwind, and the reason for his dismissal? Seriously messed up social media posts he made as a teenager.
From “Great Fit” To Gone In A Flash
Earlier in the day, the Blazers were all sunshine and roses. They announced Bell’s hiring, and Blazers president of business operations Dewayne Hankins was even quoted saying Bell was “a great fit for where we’re headed and an important voice for the next chapter of Trail Blazers basketball.” They even teased Bell showing up at their Fan Fest this weekend. Can you imagine? All of those announcements, every single one, got scrubbed from existence by the end of the night. It was like he was never there. The team then put out a statement saying they have “zero tolerance for racist, sexist or harmful comments” and that Bell, whom they mysteriously referred to as “our recently announced play-by-play broadcaster,” had totally violated that policy. No wonder they’re not moving forward with him.
Old Tweets, New Problems, And An Ongoing Mess
So, what exactly torpedoed Bell’s job before he even got to call a game? It looks like tweets from way back in 2012 and 2013, when the guy was still in high school. The source explicitly called out statements like “Asian people piss me off” and “we got a sl-t alert on aisle 10.” Yikes, right? Bell’s X account went private super fast once this all blew up. Honestly, the Blazers statement summed it up best: they said they “did not meet our own bar in this process” and apologized to Rip City. They vow to “do better,” which, let’s be real, they definitely need to.
This whole situation is just another layer of embarrassment for a team that was already stumbling. Remember how this job even opened up? Longtime broadcaster Kevin Calabro bolted because he got a “subprime” offer for his new contract, taking a clear shot at new owner Tom Dundon, who made his cash from subprime auto loans. Dundon started his tenure by laying off around 70 employees with his “cost-cutting measures.” Now, with preseason kicking off next Wednesday and the regular season on Oct. 21, the Blazers are back to square one, scrambling for an announcer. What a mess.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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