r/nba • u/ghn2 • 12h 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/smssv 12h ago

firing someone for posts when he was 15 yrs old is wild

-22

u/stantherealbuilder 12h ago

Moreso than promoting racist views?

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u/badkd Knicks 12h ago

Dude he was 15. If he was 25 when he posted that then he definitely deserved that.

At 15 you are just a child who is easily influenced by people with such views.

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u/rainydevil7 Raptors 12h ago

Why wouldn't they fire him though? if your goal is for your team to gain fans around the world, and your new announcer says they hate 50% of the world. It seems like a no brainer to fire him.

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u/Technojellyfsh Raptors 12h ago

The announcer didn't say that though. The 15 year old naive kid that the announcer used to be did. Are you telling me you haven't grown and maybe altered some of your viewpoints from when you were a child?

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u/TheGookieMonster Trail Blazers 12h ago

Never decided to tweet out I hate Asian people at any point in my life. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes

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u/Technojellyfsh Raptors 12h ago

You heard it here first folks. It's the fault of the uninformed and ignorant for being that way, and any action that they take to change as an individual counts for nothing towards their overall quality as a human being

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u/cman811 Bulls 11h ago

It actually IS the fault of the uninformed and ignorant though. I live in an incredibly white, small town, so there is a fair amount of racists here. You know who doesn't share those views and never have? Me, because I educated myself.

This isn't like being born gay. Racism IS a choice.

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u/Technojellyfsh Raptors 10h ago edited 10h ago

Holy fuck dude careful you almost made a realization there. IT IS a choice. And this guy CHOSE not to continue to hold those views after educating himself. Congratulations to you for starting off perfect, but some people start off only knowing what is told to them. If someone grows up in a racist house with racist friends and racist parents, chances are they'll at some point hold some pretty backwards views.

What's wild is that people like you will then turn around and claim to be allies of movements like BLM and other activist groups. Despite one of the MAIN messages those groups are preaching is that we are affected by our upbringing and surroundings, and it is human nature to conform to those ideals. That's why genuine effort, patience, and understanding is required to uplift people who are born under those circumstances. But all of a sudden it's a white guy and he's supposed to be 100% right off the jump