Fired Portland Trail Blazers announcer Braiden Bell has apologized for the racist, misogynistic social media posts that resulted in his dismissal just hours after he accepted the position.’I am deeply sorry for the language that I used on Twitter,’ Bell wrote in a statement posted on X. ‘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.’Bell was only hired by the NBA franchise on Thursday just hours before being axed when the shocking posts were discovered by KGW in Portland.The posts in question were shared in 2012 and 2013, when it’s believed Bell was only 15-years-old, and were posted on the account he still uses for sports commentary.’I’m not racist at all.. But not gonna lie.. Asian people p*** me off! Hahaha #honest,’ read a post from December 2012.Another, from November 2012, announced: ‘Gotta give a shoutout to all the big girls out there and those closet whores.”We got a slut alert on aisle 10,’ Bell posted in February 2013. In the same month, he tweeted: ‘Girls these nights… Smh. #ThirstyForTheD.’ Braiden Bell has been fired by the Trail Blazers after controversial historic posts resurfaced Misogynistic posts were also found, leading the NBA team to fire him on the day they hired him Reporters uncovered racist posts shared by Bell when he was a teenager in December 2012While reviewing Bell’s social media activity, KGW found that by the end of 2015 his posts were almost entirely focused on sports.’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.’The play-by-play role carries a long legacy of excellence, on the broadcast and in character, and we hold that standard without exception.’We did not meet our own bar in this process, and for that we apologize to Blazers fans and to Rip City.’We believe strongly that everyone who is a part of Rip City should feel welcome and safe and we will make sure that our new broadcaster reflects these values. We will do better.’Bell was hired as a replacement for Kevin Calabro, who had been the Trail Blazers’ play-by-play voice since 2016. He left for the Minnesota Timberwolves after he said he was offered a ‘subprime’ contract by the Trail Blazers to stay.It comes after a tumultuous offseason for the franchise that included cuts by the new owner, squabbles over the renovation of the team’s arena, the hiring of a new coach and the addition of Ja Morant. The offending posts were shared on the same account Bell still uses to comment on sports Bell (above) had been hired to replace Kevin Calabro, who left for the Minnesota Timberwolves It continues a rocky offseason for Portland, although they do have veteran Damian Lillard back Tom Dundon became the face of the Blazers’ new ownership group before the end of last season, when the team went to the playoffs for the first time in five years. In the offseason, the Blazers laid off more than 70 staffers.Tiago Splitter, an assistant who was promoted to head coach when Chauncey Billups was arrested last fall in a federal gambling probe, bolted for the Chicago Bulls this summer. The Blazers hired Micah Nori, who was an assistant with the Timberwolves.Portland surprised many in late June by trading Jerami Grant and Kris Murray to the Grizzlies in exchange for Morant, a two-time All-Star who had a rocky tenure in Memphis.One positive, however, is that Damian Lillard returns to play after a torn Achilles tendon sidelined him for all of last season.Last summer, Lillard rejoined the Blazers, where he played for his first 11 seasons, after a two-year stint with the Milwaukee Bucks.