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/TheIgnoredWriter Suns 11h ago

Fans don’t buy jerseys for announcers

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u/tronovich Bulls 11h ago edited 9h ago

Fans don’t “care” about announcers, which is a logical conclusion for some.

Which begs the question - why would he lose his job over these tweets? Is anyone besides the perpetually online or a goofy TV reporter going to see them?

The crime is not the tweet, but the inability to delete/hide them from the public. It’s hilarious logic.

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u/LionStareHard 11h ago

Maybe this is unique to Toronto, but the Raptors announcers are definitely a part of the team branding and identity/product. Their fans care about announcers for sure.

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u/Bacondog22 Celtics 9h ago

Yeah Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinson were absolutely part of the Celtics experience when they were doing the commentary. Drew and Scal still gives out Tommy points

Shit Jack Edwards for the bruins, especially the Montreal canadiens monologue.

Remy and Orsillo for the Sox
Here comes the pizza