‘Deeply sorry’: Fired Blazers broadcaster apologizes for old posts

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - The Portland Trail Blazers fired newly hired play-by-play broadcaster Braiden Bell Thursday night, just hours after announcing his hiring.

The team said in a statement that Bell’s dismissal stemmed from social media posts that violated team and league policies about racist, sexist, and harmful comments.

Bell’s hiring was first announced by the Blazers early Thursday afternoon.

Bell called Division I games for Arizona State University and California Baptist University before becoming the play-by-play announcer for the Phoenix Mercury and NBA G League’s Valley Suns. He has also called games for ESPN+ and Sirius XM, as well as events for the Pac-12 Conference and the Western Athletic Conference.

On Friday afternoon, Bell put out a statement on Twitter:

“I am deeply sorry for the language that I used on Twitter. These tweets, while wrong, were written by me 14 years ago while I was only 15 years old and have no reflection of who I am today. I do not take lightly any harm it causes now. I regret this being my first impression to many of you online, but I can take solace in knowing that the people who truly know me understand that this is not the kind of person I am. Again, I’d like to apologize to anyone who was hurt by my words and will continue to always treat people with kindness and respect.”