Portland Media Exposes Teen Tweets to Destroy Young Announcer’s Career

Clear Facts

• Braiden Bell was fired by the Portland Trail Blazers within hours of being hired as their play-by-play announcer over tweets he posted at age 15.
• KGW in Portland unearthed and publicized tweets from 2012 and 2013, prompting the team to dismiss Bell immediately.
• The Trail Blazers recently acquired Ja Morant despite his 25-game suspension for brandishing a firearm on social media.

The Blazers chose to end Bell’s employment over remarks made as a teenager rather than weighing his record since that time.

The media outlet that surfaced the old posts now faces criticism for its role in the decision.

“Virtually everything that came out of my mouth at 15 was a fireable offense. Amazing, sad story.”

Critics note that teenagers are not granted full legal rights because their judgment remains undeveloped.

Holding adults accountable for every adolescent word ignores the purpose of age-based restrictions on driving and voting.

“Braiden’s tweets at 15 do not reflect the person I know. I’m a big believer in not letting a poor decision or short timespan define a person’s body of life work. I used to be more righteous. As I matured, I learned that decisions in youth are often driven by bravado or surroundings.”

The Trail Blazers organization showed no such patience, despite welcoming a player with a documented gun-related suspension.

Public figures including Shane Gillis and Kevin Hart recovered from their own controversies after reaching adulthood.

Bell’s supporters argue that a single apology would have allowed fans to move forward.

Let us know what you think, please share your thoughts in the comments below.