TEGNA launched internal review of story behind Blazers announcer firing
Awful Announcing • • sports
Key Points:
- Braiden Bell was hired as the Portland Trail Blazers' new TV play-by-play announcer but was fired the same day after offensive social media posts from his teenage years were uncovered.
- The Blazers emphasized a zero-tolerance policy for racist, sexist, or harmful comments, citing Bell's past posts as violating team and league values.
- The offensive tweets, dating back to 2012 and 2013, were discovered by KGW reporter Devon Haskins, who, along with KGW's news director, faced backlash when their own social media histories were scrutinized.
- KGW's parent company, TEGNA, has launched an internal review to assess whether proper editorial processes were followed in reporting Bell's social media history.
- The incident has sparked debate about the fairness of holding individuals accountable for juvenile online behavior and the responsibilities of journalists and organizations in handling such revelations.
