Portland Trail Blazers fire new announcer Braiden Bell just hours after hiring over social media posts

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The Portland Trail Blazers have dismissed play-by-play announcer Braiden Bell just hours after announcing his appointment to the role.

He was initially named Thursday as the replacement for long-serving caller Kevin Calabro, but was swiftly removed after social media posts made during his teenage years came to light.

The messages, published on Twitter (now X) in late 2012 and early 2013, contained derogatory language targeting women as well as an insult directed at Asian people, despite Bell referring to himself as “not racist” in the same post.

“The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments,” the team said in a statement posted to social media later Thursday.

“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. Therefore, we will not be moving forward with this broadcaster.”

The franchise was alerted to the comments by a reporter from Portland television station KGW, who uncovered the posts and contacted the team for comment.

The Blazers say they will ‘not be moving forward’ with Bell (Getty Images)

According to Bell’s LinkedIn profile, he studied journalism at Arizona State from 2015 to 2019 before becoming the voice of Cal Baptist sports in autumn 2019.

He left that position in mid-2024 to commentate on games for Arizona State, the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and the Valley Suns of the G League, having also made his debut covering Big 12 football for FS1 last autumn.

Bell has not commented publicly since his dismissal, though he had earlier shared his excitement about taking up the position.

“Rip City — Wow, it’s going to be an awesome ride!” he posted.

“It’s hard to describe the honor I’m feeling. I can’t wait to settle into this community & fanbase.

“My goal is to make you proud every game and honor the incredible history & tradition of Blazers play-by-play. Talk to you soon!”

His X account has since been made private.

The team’s official statement also contained an apology to their supporters.

“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.”

The Trail Blazers begin their new campaign at home against the Phoenix Suns October 21.