Over two years after his termination from ESPN, former Boston Celtics player and analyst Paul Pierce still wonders why he was fired.
In an episode of I Am Athlete, Pierce expressed his disbelief at being fired for “having some entertainment.”
“I got fired for having some entertainment,” Pierce said. “I’m playing cards. It’s my boy’s birthday. It’s girls dancing, and we’re blowing some trees. I mean, what did I do wrong?”
Pierce posted a video clip of himself partying with a group of strippers and getting a haircut on his Instagram Live, which led to his termination from ESPN. When asked who recorded the video, Pierce replied that he did. He bragged that he was even getting a haircut while all of the shenanigans were going on, and then used his “hood” background to justify his actions.
Pierce also reenacted the phone call he received from an ESPN executive after the incident.
“They hit me, and it was a higher-up,” Pierce recalled. “It was a lady. I’m like, ‘Hello?’ She’s like, ‘Yeah, we’re doing an investigation. Could you tell us what happened?’ I’m like, ‘You didn’t see it?’ I was just hanging out, playing cards. It wasn’t my house. I mean, it was self-explanatory.”
He explained that although he did nothing illegal, ESPN is a Disney property, and they have a morals clause that the former Celtics player violated.
“At the end of the day, it’s Disney, and they have a morals clause, and they just said it was immoral,” Pierce said.
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Regardless of where one stands on the matter, it’s clear that Paul Pierce’s termination from ESPN has left a lasting impact on him. As he continues to wonder why he was fired, it’s likely that the controversy will follow him for years to come.