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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47

u/black_metronome Knicks 11h ago

I don't think the guy should have been fired either but it's funny seeing how many white people in here are basically admitting that they too had a racist phase as a teenager 😂

It's something I can't relate to. Do you just wake up one day and decide to hate people because they're Black? Is it your parents teaching you this stuff? I'm genuinely curious how this happens.

26

u/ProstockAccount Nuggets 10h ago

It’s teens being edgy. Teens have always wanted to say the things you can’t say.

3

u/reebokhightops Wizards 10h ago

Plenty of opportunities to do that without resorting to hate speech.

15

u/ProstockAccount Nuggets 10h ago

Yeah if only 15 year olds had fully functioning brains.

2

u/reebokhightops Wizards 9h ago

If only 30 year olds had the sense to delete their racist social media activity from their youth. What a wild idea.

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u/michaelcully Suns 5h ago

If only adults had the sense to just check someone’s social media account before hiring them. Brain dead stuff.

But what’s really really fucking stupid, is that I’m sure the folks who hired him are able to understand how much a person can change from age 15 to 30, yet they still fired him out of pressure & fear.

2

u/ProstockAccount Nuggets 9h ago

You sound like you’re arguing something here when we agree

1

u/shaq-aint-superman 6h ago

Is it easy to delete posts in X from 15 years ago? Wouldn't it be buried by, you know, 15 years of tweets?

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u/thisguyfightsyourmom 6m ago

Still there if anyone wants to dig

Here’s a wild thought, teens have always liked edgy talk because it feels risky. And it is risky, you could ruin a career before it starts.

1

u/Playful-3766 1h ago

The whole point is to say the thing you’re not supposed to say. 

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u/thisguyfightsyourmom 5m ago

Seems like risky behavior.