Why did Paul Pierce get fired from ESPN? Reason behind exit revisited

Hall of Famer Paul Pierce was a remarkable player on the court during his 19-year NBA career. He won a championship, a Finals MVP and made 10 All-Star appearances. Furthermore, Pierce didn't stay away from the league or the game upon retiring in 2017.

The Boston Celtics legend immediately joined ESPN as a studio analyst and broadcaster. Pierce appeared on prominent shows like 'The Jump' and 'NBA Countdown' on the channel. Pierce experienced a smooth run in his first two years.

However, it all went downhill after that. Pierce's lack of preparation for segments reduced his role in 2019. Pierce continued working for ESPN for two more years until he got fired in 2021.

The 2008 NBA champion's infamous Instagram Live video was to blame for his dismissal. Pierce was seen partying at a poker table with women dressed in bikinis dancing around him while consuming alcohol and smoking marijuana.

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His actions didn't fit with ESPN's morals clause, which led to his eventual firing on April 5th, 2021.

Paul Pierce maintains he did nothing wrong after getting fired by ESPN

Paul Pierce wasn't apologetic for his actions and instead engaged in a back-and-forth with ESPN regarding his viral video. The former Celtics great maintained that he did nothing wrong, saying he was just celebrating a friend's birthday.

Here's what Pierce said about this saga during an interview with 'I AM ATHLETE':

“I got fired for what? I got fired for having some entertainment,” said Pierce. “I’m playing cards, [it’s] my boy’s birthday, there’s girls dancing, and we’re blowing some trees. What did I do wrong?”

Pierce also revealed a conversation he had with one of ESPN's representatives at the time, saying:

“She’s like ‘Yeah, we’re doing an investigation. Could you tell us what happened?’ And I’m like, ‘You didn’t see it?'” Pierce joked. “I was just hanging out, playing cards. It wasn’t my house. It was self-explanatory, you know what I’m saying? There were some girls dancing, and I had some [marijuana]. It’s legal. I didn’t do nothing illegal."

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Pierce frequently jokes about the situation now and takes occasional digs at ESPN during candid interviews. However, he did go on to regret his actions. It was related to his daughter seeing the video, which embarrassed Pierce.

Here's what the former NBA player said about this:

"The only thing I was mad at about the whole thing was my daughter seeing it... You don't want to give off that perception."

Paul Pierce hasn't entered the broadcasting world again after his firing from ESPN. He co-hosts his former championship-winning teammate Kevin Garnett's podcast by Showtime Basketball called 'KG Certified'.