The Portland Trail Blazers fired Braiden Bell on Thursday night just hours after unveiling him as their new play-by-play television voice.
Bell, 29, had been introduced earlier that same day as the replacement for departing veteran Kevin Calabro. The swift reversal came after a journalist from KGW News contacted the franchise about offensive content discovered on Bell’s social media accounts.
The posts dated back to 2012 and 2013, when Bell would have been approximately 15 years old. Among the messages KGW uncovered was a December 9, 2012 post targeting Asian people. “I’m not racist at all.. But not gonna lie.. Asian people piss me off! Hahaha #Honest,” Bell wrote in the post.
Another message from several weeks earlier read: “Gotta give a shoutout to all the big girls out there and those closet w*****s.” A February 13, 2013 post stated: “We got a slut alert on aisle 10.” The posts featured racism targeting the Asian community alongside derogatory and misogynistic language directed at women, according to the news station’s findings.
The Blazers issued a statement confirming they were severing ties with the broadcaster immediately. “The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments,” the team began.
“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 statement continued.
“The play-by-play role carries a long legacy of excellence, on the broadcast and in character, and we hold that standard without exception,” the Blazers added.
The franchise concluded: “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.”
Despite his termination, the posts containing the offensive language remained visible on Bell’s X account on Thursday night. KGW noted that Bell has not posted offensive content since becoming an adult. Bell has not yet issued a public comment regarding his firing or the resurfaced posts.
Prior to the Blazers position, Bell graduated from Arizona State University in 2019 and developed his broadcasting resume calling games for Cal Baptist and Arizona State on the ESPN+ platform. He later secured play-by-play roles for the Phoenix Suns’ G League affiliate team and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.
The hiring had represented a significant step up for Bell into a full-time NBA play-by-play position with a regional sports network broadcast. The Blazers now face the task of restarting their search for Calabro’s replacement with the 2024-25 NBA season approaching.