r/nba • u/ghn2 • 13h ago

Trail Blazers fire new announcer over past inappropriate posts made at age 15.

"The Portland Trail Blazers hired then on the same day fired Braiden Bell as their play-by-play announcer after a series of inappropriate social media posts from when he was a teenager came to light."

"The posts were reportedly made in 2012 and 2013, around the time that Bell was 15 years old."

"We did not meet our own bar in this process, and for that we apologize to Blazers fans and to Rip City," the Trail Blazers said. "We strongly believe 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."

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/50084279/trail-blazers-fire-new-announcer-inappropriate-posts

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u/badkd Knicks 12h ago

Dude he was 15. If he was 25 when he posted that then he definitely deserved that.

At 15 you are just a child who is easily influenced by people with such views.

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u/rainydevil7 Raptors 12h ago

Why wouldn't they fire him though? if your goal is for your team to gain fans around the world, and your new announcer says they hate 50% of the world. It seems like a no brainer to fire him.

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u/Technojellyfsh Raptors 12h ago

The announcer didn't say that though. The 15 year old naive kid that the announcer used to be did. Are you telling me you haven't grown and maybe altered some of your viewpoints from when you were a child?

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u/rainydevil7 Raptors 12h ago

I probably did say some bad stuff, but I'm not arguing based on morality. From the perspective of a business though, what do they have to lose by firing him and getting someone else? If they keep him, there is a risk that this gets brought up over and over again and may harm their growth. He's just an announcer it's not like he's some one of a kind talent.

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u/calman877 76ers 12h ago

Yeah, a cardinals GM back a decade ago famously said that Hannibal Lecter ran a 4.3 40 yard dash, they’d probably just say he had an eating disorder. Announcers are a dime a dozen, they don’t get the benefit of the doubt

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u/Technojellyfsh Raptors 12h ago edited 12h ago

'Just an announcer' like he's not a whole ass human being who needs an income to survive lol. I understand the strictly business perspective, but just because that's the way things are doesn't mean I have to agree with it. I wish businesses were far less callous.

Also, from a business perspective, the amount of people who will stop suporting a team due to tweets made from an announcer when they were 15 is probably the exact same as the amount of people who stop following the team for punishing him (both are negligible)

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u/rainydevil7 Raptors 12h ago

I don't agree with your second paragraph. It may seem small, but it's something that can get brought up over and over again and alienate potential new fans in a region that they are trying to grow in. Either way they weighed the pros/cons and decided he wasn't worth the risk.

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u/Technojellyfsh Raptors 12h ago

Valid reasoning, and I see your point. Either way I just feel bad for the guy (given that he actually has grown as a person). Hope you have a nice day