Portland Trail Blazers fire brand-new announcer for racist, sexist tweets
Oregon Public Broadcasting - OPB • • sports
Key Points:
- The Portland Trail Blazers fired newly hired play-by-play announcer Braiden Bell hours after announcing his hiring due to racist and misogynist tweets from his teenage years.
- KGW-TV reporter Devon Haskins discovered Bell's offensive social media posts from 2012 and 2013 and alerted the team, prompting their swift decision to terminate him.
- The Blazers issued a statement condemning Bell’s past comments as violations of team and league policies, emphasizing their zero-tolerance stance on racism and sexism.
- The team apologized for not meeting their hiring standards and committed to ensuring their future broadcaster upholds the values of inclusivity and respect for the Rip City community.
- No further comments were provided by the Blazers as of Friday morning.
