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Greetings from Chicago, where I’m getting ready to cover the battle between the Jets and Blackhawks inside United Center.
I always enjoy coming to the Windy City, and not only for the delicious deep-dish pizza which I enjoyed last night while dining with Paul Edmonds, the play-by-play broadcaster for the club.
There was plenty of great table talk, including about a peer in his particular industry whose dream gig quickly turned into a nightmare.
Here’s some background for you to chew on:
Braiden Bell was recently hired by the Portland Trail Blazers to be their new broadcaster. But his employment lasted just a few hours, as a local TV station went digging into his background and found some alarming social media posts he’d made back in 2012 and 2013.
When, it should be noted, Bell was just 15-16 years old.
There’s no debate that what Bell typed at the time was gross and misogynistic and racist, even if he couched one of his comments by saying he wasn’t being racist. I won’t repeat them in this space, but they’re easy enough to find online.
But should what someone said (or in this case, wrote) as a teenager be held against them well into adulthood?
The NBA club clearly thought so, as they fired him immediately after the report came out.
“The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments,” the team said in a statement.
“Social media posts made by our recently announced play-by-play broadcaster are in clear violation of team and league policies, as well as our values and expectations. Therefore, we will not be moving forward with this broadcaster.”
Cutting ties would have been a slam dunk had the comments been made recently. And especially if this happened while he was an employee of the organization.
But from so long ago, and when he was just an immature kid?
Bell, who had been sharpening his skills while working as a broadcaster for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and Valley Suns, was immediately contrite.
“I am deeply sorry for the language that I used on Twitter,” the 29-year-old wrote in his online apology.
“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. I do not take lightly any harm it causes now. 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.”
There’s been plenty of blowback to the organization, including from basketball fans who have pointed out Portland has had no issue in the past employing players with a litany of criminal allegations, charges and even convictions.
In fact, at one point, the team was nicknamed the “Jail Blazers” because of the makeup of their roster. The latest chapter in this story may now get written through the courts. A lawyer representing Bell said he’s seeking reinstatement.
“Braiden is not asking anyone to excuse what he wrote,” lawyer Arnie Herz wrote in a press release.
“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. If that is the standard, there is hardly a person in any organization in America who could meet it. Accountability means owning what you did and showing who you have become. Braiden has done both.”
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The lawyer might actually have case law on his side. He represented Jacob Tobey, the San Antonio Spurs announcer who was fired after his girlfriend made a social media post accusing him of cheating on her with the sister of a player on the team.
Tobey was later reinstated to the job.
The lawyer referred to the Blazers as an organization “built on second chances” and urged them to do the right thing.
“Zero tolerance sounds strong, but applied to childhood it becomes a standard no one can meet and no one actually believes in,” Herz said.
“The NBA has led on social issues before. It can lead here, from moral absolutism toward a culture of accountability, compassion and understanding.”
The team has indicated they have no plans to overturn the decision, so we’ll see where this goes from here.
I suspect all of us have said and done stupid things in our lives, especially when we were teenagers. It’s probably a good thing for many the Internet wasn’t around then.
Based on the facts of this particular situation, I personally think Portland threw up a bit of an air ball here, especially given how hypocritical this looks.
Bell was dumb to say what he did. And I’m not sure why, especially as he became an adult and entered the workforce, he didn’t go back and scrub that history. That was also dumb on his part.
But he’s not alone in the blame game here.
I also have some serious issues with the local TV station that went digging — deep! — into his social media history to find some dirt. Is that really the best use of journalism?
In perhaps the most predictable development ever, plenty of people then turned the tables on the reporter and editor and other employees of the station, finding some less-than-ideal comments they’ve made over the years and questioning why they are now still employed.
What. A. Mess.
Thoughts? I’d love to hear yours, as always.
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