The Portland Trail Blazers dismissed Braiden Bell as their newly appointed play-by-play television broadcaster on Thursday following the emergence of past social media posts containing inappropriate content. Bell had been introduced earlier the same day as the replacement for longtime announcer Kevin Calabro.

Prior to joining the Trail Blazers, Bell, 29, served as the play-by-play announcer for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and the NBA G League’s Valley Suns. However, within hours of the team’s announcement, posts allegedly authored by Bell on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) in 2012 and 2013 surfaced publicly. The posts contained language that was widely regarded as racist.

KGW-TV in Portland was the first to report on the tweets, noting that Bell was a teenager at the time the messages were posted. The Trail Blazers acted swiftly after the revelations and terminated Bell’s contract the same day.

The team did not provide additional details or comment extensively beyond confirming the decision to part ways with Bell. The incident underscores the increasing scrutiny sports organizations face regarding the past conduct of individuals they hire, especially in high-profile media roles.