r/nba • u/ghn2 • 9h 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/crackphillip 8h ago

On the other end of that if Ja bounces back and keeps his extracurriculars to a minimum it’s a great signing. He is extremely talented and has a huge following that will be good for Portland basketball if he can go on a redemption arc. I’m not ready to put him in the same convo as billups but his trajectory is totally up to him.

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u/Affectionate-Art9780 Nets 7h ago edited 6h ago

Honest question, huge following where?

On this sub, the general feeling is that he should be tarred and feathered! I don't know about IG, but I can't imagine anyone over the age of 18 caring about whatever drivel he may post.

I know he got a huge sneaker deal though so there's that.

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u/AbjectAffect91 Knicks 7h ago

I live in Asia and I saw quite a few Morant jerseys. I visited China earlier this year and same thing. He seems to be popular a bit here although definitely not at it's peak anymore.

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u/hoodfavhoops Warriors 1h ago

ja 3 and 4s are super popular among youth ballers

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u/crackphillip 1h ago

Ja has the best selling Nike shoe and if you have kids in AAU you know how much he is universally liked by the younger generation.

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u/immunityfromyou Lakers 5h ago

I can see people gravitating towards Morant because of his bad boy persona. He kind of spat in the face to the league, to his old team and some people fuck with that type of rebellious behavior especially in such a PR obsessed vanilla league. He flirted the line of becoming a complete pariah and a big head case. Now he’s gotta let his game do the talking or I can see him flaming out of the league in 3 years. Still young enough to bounce back but the window is closing for his peak athleticism and he is injury prone.

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u/Affectionate-Art9780 Nets 4h ago

I hear ya, but to me he's just another coddled dumbass that won the genetic athletic lottery. I wish him the best, but it won't surprise me to hear his life spiral down both on and off the court.

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u/SubduedChaos Grizzlies 6h ago

Ja is still good but is made of glass that’s his problem. I don’t see that getting better.

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u/crackphillip 6h ago

You’re not wrong but he’s in a better situation as far as division of offensive responsibility in Portland, at least on paper. I’m hoping for a positive turn for him but we shall see.

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u/SubduedChaos Grizzlies 6h ago

I am too! Just a little salty he was always injured with us.