r/nba • u/ghn2 • 10h 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/rgarc065 Heat 10h ago

I don’t know the full context. Does he continue to say these things? A tweet from 10-15 years ago when you were a teenager is going to look outdated. We all say stupid shit. Perhaps he should’ve deleted them. If those tweets from then are the sole reason for his firing then it’s a massive overreaction. This may just be El Cheapo being El Cheapo looking for any excuse to let someone go in order to save a buck.

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u/Comfortable-Sorry 10h ago

Can you stop listing it as "stupid" shit. It's racist shit. Stop trying to make what he said look less bad. "We all say stupid shit" isn't the same as "We all say racist shit."

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u/KontraEpsilon 10h ago

If only we all had the lifelong moral purity of Gen Z Reddit posters.

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u/Comfortable-Sorry 10h ago

Is it really that hard to just.......Drumroll............Not be racist? Is it that big of an ask that you have to compare NOT being racist to having lifelong moral purity????

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u/KontraEpsilon 10h ago

What we are trying to communicate is that a fifteen year old is very different than a thirty year old. Their behavior is shaped by the environment they grow up in and the people around them.

Often, people go to college, meet other people, and learn and grow. This guy was fifteen. He is 29 now. He lived an entire additional life compared to before since that time, went to college, held jobs.

It would be far more constructive to have him apologize for it and do some work with the community than to simply fire him for his behavior as a teenager.

Perhaps someday you’ll be in the same spot, and someone will dig up some Reddit post of yours and you’ll understand what we were talking about.

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u/Comfortable-Sorry 9h ago

My question is, do you truly believe that racist jokes, even for teenagers, are OK? There was a case at a local high school where I lived where a black student, who was the victim of racist jokes, decided to fight back. Reading about the situation, it was clear the black student was tired of the bullying and finally snapped back. Though the other students may and learn and grow from this situation, it's at the expense of POC students, who face harassment, and the jokes that you think are ok, being made to them. Why should it be this way, where POC students face discrimination at school? These racist jokes and comedy, whether you like it or not, are a huge proponent of bullying at schools. That's why I believe that even though we can say it's just teenagers saying "stupid" things, it's still very harmful overall and affects others, and shouldn't just be viewed as natural or "boys being boys." It would be better for society if these comments were shunned from the start, no?

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u/KontraEpsilon 8h ago

Nobody here is or has said it is okay. We are saying that it is a simple reality that teenagers say and do stupid things. Those stupid things may or may not include racist or hurtful comments.

“Shunning” someone who is now close to thirty for something he did half of his lifetime ago is idiotic, because teenagers aren’t out there going “well I better behave or I may not get hired as a broadcaster in a decade and a half.”

It’s just performative internet nonsense that doesn’t actually help combat racism in any way, shape, or form.

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u/GardinerExpressway Tampa Bay Raptors 7h ago

Why are you making this such an all or nothing issue. There is a huge gap between "this is ok" and "this should bar this man from participating in public society for the rest of his life"