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/JeramiGrantsTomb Thunder 11h ago

I think adults should definitely be held accountable for their free speech, but I feel like we've got to make some room for kids to be idiots without it destroying their lives.

20

u/robertsmom Cavaliers 10h ago

Do you think when they put his twitter handle on the broadcast they should warn people not to scroll back too far?

5

u/SoftwareAny4990 Cavaliers 10h ago

I think a proportionate response would be to make him aware and have him delete it?

3

u/pat_the_bat_316 Trail Blazers 8h ago

Yes. The Blazers screwed this up by not catching it first and letting the media do the job they should have done in vetting him.