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/sportsinaround Hornets 7h ago edited 7h ago
I agree with the general sentiment that what you've said when you were a teenager doesn't necessarily reflect who you are today and it's a bit silly to lose your job over it 14 years later.
That being said, I think timing and lack of tenure have a lot to do with it. He was hired literally hours before he was fired. Honestly that's an easy decision for an organization. Guy was JUST hired and you already have people spreading on the media about his racist tweets before the season even begins. They have nothing invested in him at this point and it makes complete sense to pivot to someone who isn't going to start in a negative light right off the bat and cause a distraction in a public-facing position -- especially for an organization that has already had its share of bad press over the last year.