Paul Pierce was one of the former NBA players who transitioned into being an analyst when he joined ESPN back in the 2016 postseason. However, due to an incident where he broadcast an Instagram live showing how he was surrounded by several women wearing bikinis and smoking blunts, the 2008 champion was fired.
For context, ESPN is owned by Disney and they value their image greatly. This could be a huge reason as to why the Hall of Fame forward was let go by the company shortly after the incident.
Comedian TK Kirkland recently shared the reason as to why Pierce was fired from being a broadcaster.
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“Whatever happened to the old ways? Just walk in and say, ‘Look, motherf***ers. I quit.’ You could do that too, now. Without embarrassing yourself.” Kirkland said.
“There is a thing, you could go in and say, ‘I quit,’ and keep it moving. Or have your agent say, ‘Paul wants to get out of his contract, he doesn’t wanna come in anymore.’ Now, since we put all these different stories out, this is gonna be a conspiracy theory, too.”
“Somebody’s gonna say what you said, somebody’s gonna say, ‘There was some ugly b***hes on that video, that’s why he got fired!’ The president of Disney saw that video and said, ‘All the money we pay this motherf***ker, he couldn’t have gotten better looking b***hes. Get his agent on the phone, fire this motherf***ker. This is what he doing with our money? He couldn’t pick no prettier b***hes?'”
Kirkland’s reasoning could be a valid argument that could be used to explain why Pierce was fired from ESPN. On the bright side, the former 10-time All-Star is an accomplished NBA star and was inducted into the Hall of Fame back in 2021.
Check out Pierce’s Instagram live that got him fired back in 2021.
You might also be interested in reading this: “I got fired for having some entertainment” -Paul Pierce on his firing from ESPN after Instagram live debacle
Paul Pierce shared an interesting story about a particular game against Kobe Bryant
Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant have had incredible battles in the past and have given fans a lot to reminisce about. In a recent interview, the former Boston Celtics star shared an instance where Bryant showed him the true Mamba Mentality.
“He put so much pressure on me, I think he shot the ball every single time down. He had like, 40. He had about 40-something. I looked at the statsheet, he took 41 shots on me.”
“He come to Boston and took 41 shots on me and I was like, ‘Hold on, dawg.’ He was tryna just take my head off. Like, he was tryna go for 80.”
Based on Pierce’s story, it’s clear that Bryant’s Mamba Mentaliy was always ready. This is probably why he was feared by some of the stars he played against.
Also read: “I feel like it’s our duty”- Paul Pierce explains why it’s important for legends to go back and connect with modern-day superstars