Former Portland Trail Blazers play-by-play announcer Braiden Bell is seeking reinstatement after being dismissed hours following his hiring due to decade-old social media posts. Bell, 29, was hired from the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury to succeed Kevin Calabro, marking him as the NBA’s youngest lead broadcaster. The Blazers ended his contract after tweets he wrote at age 15 surfaced online.
Controversial Tweets
In December 2012, Bell tweeted, “I’m not racist at all.. But not gonna lie.. Asian people p— me off! Hahaha #Honest.” Another tweet in July 2013 read, “no blacks either. #racist.” These comments drew attention, leading to his immediate firing.
Bell has engaged sports employment attorney Arnie Herz, who successfully represented San Antonio Spurs broadcaster Jacob Tobey in his reinstatement following a team suspension. Herz issued a statement encouraging the Blazers to reconsider their decision.
“Should the worst words a fifteen-year-old ever wrote decide the rest of his life? That is the question now before the Portland Trail Blazers,” the statement read.
Herz emphasized that Bell has acknowledged his past errors and pointed out that measuring adults by their childhood mistakes would be unfair.
Bell also delivered a public apology regarding the tweets.
“I am deeply sorry for the language that I used on 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,” Bell stated.
Blazers’ Firm Stance
The Portland Trail Blazers maintained a strict position in their statement accompanying Bell’s termination. The organization emphasized their zero tolerance for harmful comments and cited a violation of team policies as the reason behind his dismissal.
“The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful 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,” the team declared.
The Blazers acknowledged shortcomings in their screening process and vowed improvement.
In response to calls for reinstatement, the Trail Blazers reiterated their decision to The Athletic.
“We stand by our statement issued last week and have no further comment at this time. We wish Mr. Bell the best,” the statement concluded.
The ongoing dialogue concerning Bell’s future with the Trail Blazers remains uncertain.
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