Fired Blazers broadcaster Braiden Bell hires lawyer, seeks reinstatement

Braiden Bell isn’t ready to give up the Trail Blazers’ play-by-play job.

Bell has hired attorney Arnie Herz and asked Portland to reconsider its decision to fire him, NBA insider Chris Haynes reported. The Blazers announced Bell as their new television voice last week, then reversed course hours later after racist and sexist social media posts he wrote as a teenager surfaced.

“Braiden is not asking anyone to excuse what he wrote,” Herz said in a statement shared by Haynes. “He has owned it, without excuses.”

Herz argued that Bell’s words from roughly 14 years ago should be weighed against the person he has become since. Bell also proposed working with the team on community and educational programs, including outreach to Asian American and Pacific Islander groups and organizations supporting women and girls in sports.

As we wrote last week, the posts were offensive. Bell was also about 15 when he wrote them. Both facts belong in this discussion.

Hiring counsel gives Bell a formal way to ask for the job back. It does not mean he has filed a lawsuit, and the Blazers have not publicly indicated that they intend to reverse their decision. But this story clearly isn’t over.