Braiden Bell’s introduction as the Portland Trail Blazers’ new television play-by-play announcer lasted only a few hours. The 29-year-old was announced as Kevin Calabro’s replacement on Thursday. But the celebration around his new opportunity quickly disappeared.
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KGW reporter Devon Haskins uncovered offensive posts from Bell’s teenage years on the X account he still uses. The Trail Blazers subsequently fired their new broadcaster the same day. Bell has now addressed the fallout himself. In a written apology, he acknowledged the racist and misogynistic language in the posts while pointing out that they were written 14 years ago, when he was 15.
“I am deeply sorry for the language that I used on Twitter,” Bell said in a statement on X. “These tweets, while wrong, were written by me 14 years ago while I was only 15 years old and have no reflection of who I am today. I do not take lightly any harm it causes now.
“I regret this being my first impression to many of you online, but I can take solace in knowing that the people who truly know me understand that this is not the kind of person I am. Again, I’d like to apologize to anyone who was hurt by my words and will continue to always treat people with kindness and respect.”
The posts that triggered the firing date to 2012 and 2013, when Bell was in high school.
However, KGW reported that it did not find similar offensive posts from Bell’s adult years. The Trail Blazers said the posts violated both the organization’s standards and league policies.
“The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments,” the franchise said. “Social media posts made by our recently announced play-by-play broadcaster are in clear violation of team and league policies, as well as our values and expectations.”
Portland also acknowledged its own failure in the hiring process. The team said the play-by-play position carries a standard of excellence “on the broadcast and in character” and admitted, “We did not meet our own bar in this process.”
The franchise apologized to Blazers fans and Rip City, adding that it would make sure its next broadcaster reflects its values and that it would “do better.”
Bell had been viewed as the next step in a broadcasting career that included work with Arizona State, the Phoenix Mercury and the Valley Suns. He was expected to take over for longtime play-by-play announcer Kevin Calabro, who had been in the role since 2016.
Calabro left in July after telling The Oregonian that the team had offered him what he called a “subprime” contract. But now Bell’s Trail Blazers tenure ended before he called a single game.