Braiden Bell is speaking out this week in the wake of his hiring and firing by the Portland Trail Blazers.
Bell took to X on Friday to issue an apology. The apology came in the wake of Bell’s firing by the Blazers over controversial posts that he had made as a 15-year-old back in 2012.
“I am deeply sorry for the language that I used on Twitter,” Bell said, in reference to the platform’s former name. “These tweets, while wrong, were written by me 14 years ago when 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,” added Bell. “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.”
— Braiden Bell (@braidenbellpxp) October 2, 2026
Bell, now 29 years old, was announced on Thursday by the Blazers as their new television play-by-play broadcaster (after he previously served as a commentator for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and for the NBA G League’s Valley Suns). But he was fired by the Blazers just hours later after a KGW reporter dug up some of Bell’s old posts in which Bell had used racist and misogynist language.
This entire saga was triggered by new Blazers owner Tom Dundon’s widespread budget cuts to the organization, which included the departure of Kevin Calabro, the team’s former television play-by-play man. Calabro and some other notable figures who were laid off by the team have since claimed that they were treated disrespectfully.
