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Trail Blazers fire newly named TV announcer Braiden Bell hours after hiring over teenage tweets

The Portland Trail Blazers named Braiden Bell their lead TV play-by-play announcer on Thursday and dropped Bell hours later after local station KGW found racist and sexist posts from Bell's teenage years. The team apologised to fans.

2 outlets · 0L · 1C · 1R First reported Account updated
Image: Newsweek
Image: Fox News

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The story, neutrally told

MixedThe Portland Trail Blazers fired Braiden Bell, 29, on Thursday, hours after naming Bell their new lead TV play-by-play announcer. MixedThe decision followed the discovery by a reporter at local station KGW of old social media posts, made when Bell was a teenager. MixedNewsweek dates the posts to 2012 and 2013, when Bell was 15, while Fox News says they were written between 2012 and 2014.

RightFox News quotes two of the posts, from December 2012 and July 2013, that make disparaging remarks about Asian and Black people, and says Bell also appeared to make disparaging remarks about women in some posts. CentreNBA reporter Chris Haynes was the first to report the firing on X, saying the team had let Bell go after racist tweets from Bell's teenage years were found. MixedIn a statement, the team said it has "zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments", that it would not move forward with the broadcaster, and that it "did not meet our own bar in this process", and it apologised to Blazers fans and Rip City.

RightThe team also said it would make sure its new broadcaster reflects the values of making everyone feel welcome and safe, and promised to "do better". CentreBell had come from the Phoenix Mercury and the G League's Valley Suns, was to replace Kevin Calabro, whose departure left the booth empty, and was to work with analyst Lamar Hurd. RightFox News says the team skipped administrative leave and terminated Bell that evening, and that some social media critics called the move a panicked surrender to online outrage and virtue signalling over teenage tweets. It adds that the team did not immediately respond to OutKick's request for comment.

CentreNewsweek notes that fans were due to meet Bell at Sunday's Fan Fest at Moda Center, and puts the episode in the context of owner Tom Dundon, who since buying the team in March has let go around 70 staffers and most of the broadcast crew. CentreThe Blazers open the season on Oct. 21 at home against the Phoenix Suns, and still need a new TV voice for that game.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split.

Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Newsweek treats it as a sports-business story: a feel-good hire reversed within a day, adding to turmoil under owner Tom Dundon.
Emphasis
Fan disappointment, the team's apology, Bell's background, the Dundon cuts and the season opener on Oct. 21.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not quote the tweets or mention critics of the firing.
Charged language
“Stunning Broadcaster Decision”“The timing stings”“back to square one”
For example
“The timing stings. Fans were supposed to meet Bell at Sunday's Fan Fest at Moda Center. Now the Blazers are back to square one.” — Newsweek
“It also adds to a rough stretch under owner Tom Dundon.” — Newsweek

Right1 outlet

Framing
Fox News (OutKick) frames the firing as an overreaction to decade-old teenage posts, with the team caving to online outrage.
Emphasis
Bell's age when posting, quoted tweets, critics who say the career was ruined, and the team's quick decision to skip administrative leave.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention Dundon's wider staff cuts or the season opener.
Charged language
“Panicking in real time”“panic and surrender to online outrage”“virtue signaling”“do we just want blood”
For example
“Panicking in real time, Blazers executives skipped administrative leave and terminated Bell that evening” — Fox News
“Some critics on social media were quick to call out the Blazers' panic and surrender to online outrage over 10th-grade tweets.” — Fox News