For Portland Trail Blazers fans, Thursday started with excitement. After a long summer of cuts and change, the team finally had a new voice to call its games on TV. The booth had been empty since Kevin Calabro left.
Rip City was hoping for a fresh start before the season tips off. But that feel-good moment did not even last a full day. NBA insider Chris Haynes shared the news on X: "Portland Trail Blazers have fired Braiden Bell hours after naming him the new TV play-by-play broadcaster after racist tweets were discovered in his past as a teen," Haynes wrote.
The Blazers posted a statement on their X account, owning the mistake and apologizing to fans. "The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments… we will not be moving forward with this broadcaster. 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.
The posts date back to 2012 and 2013, when Bell was 15. A KGW reporter found them shortly after the hire was made public. Bell, 29, most recently called games for the Phoenix Mercury and the G League's Valley Suns.
He was set to work alongside analyst Lamar Hurd. Fans were supposed to meet Bell at Sunday's Fan Fest at Moda Center. Now the Blazers are back to square one.
It also adds to a rough stretch under owner Tom Dundon. Since buying the team in March, he has let go of around 70 staffers and most of the broadcast crew. The Blazers open the season Oct. 21 at home against the Phoenix Suns, a rematch of last season's play-in win.
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