Trail Blazers Fire Announcer Over Teen Racist Tweets, Lawyer Demands Reinstatement
Portland Trail Blazers fire announcer Braiden Bell over past tweets, lawyer seeks reinstatement and legal explanation.
2 min read
Portland Trail Blazers have fired announcer Braiden Bell after uncovering racist tweets he posted as a teenager. The team had recently hired Bell as their new play-by-play broadcaster, but the announcement was quickly followed by the discovery of the offensive social media posts from when he was 15. The Trail Blazers swiftly rescinded the offer, and Bell is no longer employed by the team.
Lawyer Demands Reinstatement and Legal Explanation
Bell’s attorney, Arnie Herz, is now pressing the team to provide a legal rationale for the firing and is seeking the reinstatement of his client. Herz emphasized that Bell has already taken responsibility for his past actions and believes that holding him accountable for tweets from over a decade ago is unjust.
“Braiden is not asking anyone to excuse what he wrote,” Herz stated in a press release. “He has owned it, without excuses. What he is asking is whether a boy’s words from fourteen years ago should outweigh everything the man has done since. If that is the standard, there is hardly a person in any organization in America who could meet it.”
Team Stands by Decision, Lawyer Threatens Legal Action
The Trail Blazers issued a statement defending their decision, stating that the tweets violated team and league policies. “We have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments,” the team said. “Social media posts made by our recently announced play-by-play broadcaster are in clear violation of team and league policies, as well as our values and expectations. Therefore, we will not be moving forward with this broadcaster.”
Herz, however, insisted that the team must provide a legal basis for their decision. He warned that he would go public unless the team responded within 24 hours. “We’re not going away. This is not going away. It’s going to stay in the news cycle,” Herz said, noting that he and Bell will be making public appearances in the coming days.
Herz Calls on NBA Commissioner for Intervention
Herz also directed his message to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, urging him to take action. “I would ask Adam Silver to make a few phone calls here, and say, ‘This is not who we are as a league. This is not who we are in this country right now. There’s enough divisiveness that we’re not going to start holding 15-year-old boys responsible for what they said for the rest of their life,’” Herz told Sport & State.
The case has sparked a broader debate on accountability, past behavior, and the balance between personal growth and historical misconduct. As the legal battle unfolds, the Trail Blazers and Bell’s legal team remain locked in a high-stakes conflict over the validity of the firing and the implications for future hiring practices in the sports industry.
Source: Breitbart
