Paul Pierce got into a confrontation with security staffers at a UFC event last year, and the former NBA star is facing a lawsuit because of it.
According to a report from TMZ, Christopher Mostello was working security at the T-Mobile Arena during UFC 229 — headlined by Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov — when a supervisor called him to respond to an incident involving Pierce. Mostello says Pierce had gotten physical with a female supervisor because she asked to see his ticket when he returned to his seat. Mostello accused Pierce of grabbing the woman’s arms and shoving her aside, and he supposedly screamed “f— you!” at Costello and called him a racist when Costello came over to help.
The incident was documented by TMZ last October, and a video taken by a fan sitting nearby shows Pierce being escorted out and calling Costello a racist more than once. Mostello says his reputation has been negatively impacted as a result of the incident, and he is suing Pierce for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit demands more than $15,000 in damages plus other costs.
Pierce has been in the news a lot lately, most notably for his hilariously inaccurate prediction for the Celtics-Bucks series. Apparently making NBA predictions isn’t the only thing the Boston legend is having issues with.
