Attorney challenges Portland Trail Blazers' ‘zero tolerance' stance after broadcaster's firing
· Yahoo Sports
An attorney for broadcaster Braiden Bell is seeking his reinstatement with the Portland Trail Blazers after the team fired him over social media posts he wrote as a teenager, according to Front Office Sports.
The Trail Blazers announced Bell as their new play-by-play broadcaster last week but fired him hours later, after a reporter with Portland NBC affiliate KGW uncovered posts from 2012 and 2013 that included derogatory comments about women and Asian people.
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Bell was 15 when he wrote the posts.
"Braiden is not asking anyone to excuse what he wrote," Bell's attorney, Arnie Herz, said in a statement Monday. "He has owned it, without excuses. What he is asking is whether a boy's words from fourteen years ago should outweigh everything the man has done since."
Bell previously called games for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and the G League's Valley Suns.
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The Trail Blazers said Bell's posts violated team and league policies, adding that the organization has "zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments."
Bell apologized Oct. 2, saying the posts were wrong and did not reflect who he is today.
"I am deeply sorry for the language that I used on Twitter," Bell wrote. "These tweets, while wrong, were written by me 14 years ago while I was only 15 years old and have no reflection of who I am today."
Herz argued Bell should be given a second chance and criticized applying a "zero tolerance" standard to comments made during childhood.
Herz also represented San Antonio Spurs play-by-play announcer Jacob Tobey, who stepped away from his role after a social media post on his account alleged that he had cheated on his girlfriend with the sister of former Spur Lindy Waters III. Tobey later returned to the Spurs broadcast booth.
The Blazers indicated in a statement to Front Office Sports that they do not plan to reverse their decision.
"We stand by our statement issued last week and have no further comment at this time," the team said. "We wish Mr. Bell the best."
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