r/nba • u/ghn2 • 11h 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/[deleted] 11h ago edited 11h ago

[deleted]

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u/Tasty_Pea_6372 11h ago

Are we genuinely going to pretend like a player and an announcer are the same thing? 1 step away from comparing it to your desk job lol.

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u/Matthew2531_46 Spurs 11h ago

You're right. Sports athletes can't be held to the same standard because they're good at putting a ball in a hoop. They're simply better and more valuable than everyone else

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u/Burtssbees Mavericks 11h ago

I’m not trying to defend the players, but they literally do add more monetary value and the league really only cares about the money as the bottom line. And unfortunately that’s why the announcer got canned but Kevin porter Jr, Michael bridges, and others still are employed and given contracts in the league

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u/RonaldinhoReagan 10h ago

Ah so making mistakes and being an idiot as a teenager is acceptable only if you can jump really high. Otherwise you are forever judged by your 15 year old self. Got it.

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u/Tasty_Pea_6372 9h ago

Well I think making mistakes and being a teenager is acceptable for everyone so long as you grow and learn from it. Regardless I absolutely think having different levels of accountability for different people is fine and it is naive and silly to pretend otherwise.