The Trail Blazers hired Braiden Bell as their television play-by-play announcer on Thursday, then fired him the same day. Per reporting from multiple outlets, the team became aware of social media posts Bell made as a teenager that were racist, sexist, or otherwise harmful. Bell had previously worked as a broadcaster for the Phoenix Mercury.
The Trail Blazers released a statement saying the organization has "zero tolerance for racist, sexist or harmful comments," according to CBS Sports. One outlet, Awful Announcing, noted that Joe Freeman of The Oregonian and Oregon Live first reported the hiring on Thursday before the team announced Bell would not move forward in the role by that evening.