Media sinks to new low by digging up tweets that got announcer fired by cowardly Blazers, tell me about this news today

The story revolves around 29-year-old broadcaster Braiden Bell, who was hired by the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers as their new television play-by-play announcer to replace longtime voice Kevin Calabro, only to be fired just hours later.

How the Firing Unfolded

• The Announcement and the Investigation: On Thursday morning, the Trail Blazers announced Bell as their new play-by-play voice. Shortly after the announcement, Devon Haskins, a reporter with local Portland NBC affiliate KGW, searched through Bell’s active X (formerly Twitter) account and uncovered offensive posts dating back to 2012 and 2013.

• The Nature of the Tweets: The posts were made when Bell was approximately 15 years old. They included crude, misogynistic remarks degrading women, as well as a post saying he wasn’t racist but that “Asian people piss me off”. KGW noted that Bell had not deleted the posts, but also noted there were no similar offensive tweets found from his adult years.

• The Quick Dismissal: After KGW reached out to the organization for comment on Thursday afternoon, the Trail Blazers abruptly terminated Bell’s contract that same night. In a statement, the franchise stated that the comments violated team and league conduct policies and failed to reflect the inclusive environment they aim to cultivate, concluding that they “will do better”.

• Bell’s Response: Bell issued a public apology on X on Friday, expressing deep regret for the language he used as a teenager. He stated that while the posts were wrong, they were written 14 years ago when he was just 15 and do not reflect the person or professional he is today.

The Backlash and Debate

The decision triggered a wave of public anger and online debate across sports media:

• Criticism of the Media: Many critics and fans argued that a local news outlet weaponized digging up 14-year-old teenage social media posts purely for outrage clicks, targeting someone for things said well before adulthood instead of reporting substantive sports news.

• Criticism of the Front Office: Frustrated fans labeled the Blazers’ leadership cowardly for reflexively cutting ties within hours of a media inquiry rather than standing behind their hire, conducting an internal review, or taking into account the context of his age at the time and clean adult record.

• The Organization’s Stance: Defenders of the team’s move countered that modern front offices face heavy corporate and fan pressure, and that the Blazers simply could not risk public relations blowback over overtly discriminatory remarks attached to the primary public voice of their broadcasts.