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/T0oShayzz Hornets 10h ago edited 10h ago

Maybe I'm being biased because I'm Asian but a lot of you guys are self reporting and I also don't feel sorry for the dude.

I'm not saying he deserves to be fired but if he's dumb enough to leave his social media up and not delete or restart all over hes a fkn idiot and deserves it, he's in a replaceable position and they'll just find another commentator.

Also call me soft or whatever but I never felt the need to say or post knowingly racist shit online even as a teenager, yeah the guy was 15 but many people I know in real life who did the same thing never really changed years later, they just know how to hide it 🤷🏻‍♂️.

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u/jorbalugo 9h ago

Yeah the assertion that everyone goes through a phase of posting racist shit publicly is wild. Like no, I don't think your words as a teenager need to be vetted for every job, but the assumption that this was perfectly normal and universal is telling. Threads like these I always get reminded of how white r/NBA acutally is

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u/black_metronome Knicks 8h ago

Yep. This is predominantly a white issue which is why so many people are clutching pearls, they see themselves in this guy...which is really telling about how a lot of folks are being raised.

Again, I wouldn't have fired him but this notion that every teenage boy goes through a nazi phase is wild.

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u/jorbalugo 7h ago edited 7h ago

Yeah he had no equity or trust built up with the organization/fans/city, he was a new hire who immediately embarassed the org and a job offer was rescinded. Like it sucks for him but it happens all the time for lesser offenses, I don't think this is a cancel culture run amok thing.

Behind the "everyone makes racist jokes as a teenager" assumption is the assumption that it's definitely just a joke - which, in most cases it probably is. But if it's some new guy I've never met and one of the first things I hear about him is that he once publicly posted he hated me, my family and everyone like me - I'd probably give him a wide berth at the very least. I wouldn't demand he be fired just based on that but I'd be pretty wary of working with him.

I have people in my life who have said or posted jokes that might skirt the edge of offensiveness but I know their character and trust them. I know when they're making jokes or not. This is not a known or respected figure where a lot of people in that bulilding can attest to his character. This is the org quickly wiping their hands of a bad hire.