The Portland Trail Blazers hired then on the same day fired Braiden Bell as their play-by-play announcer after a series of inappropriate social media posts from when he was a teenager came to light.
"The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments," the team said in a social media statement Thursday announcing Bell's dismissal. "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."
Among the insensitive comments, as found by a reporter for KGW in Portland, were Bell saying he was quote "not racist" but "Asian people piss me off" and a number of misogynistic posts that including him shouting out "big girls" and "closet whores." The posts were reportedly made in 2012 and 2013, around the time that Bell was 15 years old.
Bell, 29, had been hired to call games after broadcasting for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and G League's Valley Suns over the past two years.
Both Bell and his agent did not respond to requests for comment from multiple outlets. The agent referred questions from KGW, made before the firing, to the Trail Blazers.
"We did not meet our own bar in this process, and for that we apologize to Blazers fans and to Rip City," the Trail Blazers said. "We strongly believe that everyone who is a part of Rip City should feel welcome and safe and we will make sure that our new broadcaster reflects these values. We will do better."
Bell was set to replace longtime play-by-play announcer Kevin Calabro, who had held the role since 2016 but left in July after what he told The Oregonian was a "subprime" contract offer.
New Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon has made a number of cost-cutting moves that have come under scrutiny. Dundon also insisted over the summer that only public money should be used to pay for a $600 million makeover of the Trail Blazers' arena, the Moda Center.