The Portland Trail Blazers hired Braiden Bell, hours after hiring him on Thursday. Bell was slated to replace longtime tight end Kevin Calabro in the role, but after hiring him, the Blazers discovered racist and misogynistic posts on his existing social media account. Bell is now 29 years old, and the records came when Bell was a teenager in 2012 and 2013. The Blazers released the following statement:
“The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist or hurtful comments. The social media posts made by our recently announced play-by-play broadcaster clearly violate team and league policies, as well as our values and expectations. Therefore, we will not be moving forward with this broadcaster.”
“Play-by-play has a long legacy of excellence in broadcasting and character, and we uphold that standard without exception. We didn’t meet our bar in the process, and for that we apologize to Blazers fans and Rip City. We believe everyone who is a part of Rip City will feel welcome and safe, and we will make sure we better reflect those values.”
The tweets were first found by news agency KGW, which found no offensive tweets after Bell became an adult. As of 2015, his account focused almost exclusively on sports. Bell’s account was private Friday night.
Before taking the Blazers job, Bell was a broadcast broadcaster for the Phoenix Mercury and Valley Sun of the G-League. The Blazers were already overhauling much of their television operation this offseason, with Calabro among the many veteran broadcasters not being retained by new owner Tom Dundon.
Portland will need to find a new play-by-play voice less than three weeks before the start of the 2026-27 season. The Blazers open the season on Oct. 21 at home against the Phoenix Suns.