Paul Pierce is finally speaking out on his firing from ESPN and is throwing a stray at LeBron James in the process.
The retired former All-Star spoke with Chris Mannix of SI this week. In the interview, Pierce opened up about his Instagram Live video that led his termination by ESPN as well as his issues with the network.
“I was done with them, anyway,” said Pierce. “It wasn’t a great fit. There’s a lot of stuff over there that you can’t say. And you have to talk about LeBron all the time.
“Come on, I didn’t do anything illegal,” Pierce went on. “These motherf—–s in the Hall of Fame, some did [cocaine], f—ing battery. What the f— did I do? I was just having a good time. All the people coming after me, half you motherf—–s do the same s—. You’re just hiding it. And you all are married while you’re doing it. I’m divorced, I’m retired, I’m having fun.”
Mannix’s story also adds that the relationship between Pierce and ESPN had been strained for the last two years prior to the video, which featured Pierce playing poker at a friend’s house while drinking, smoking, and mingling with strippers. Pierce hated the travel involved with his job at ESPN, and network executives did not think he was working hard enough. The video was reportedly the last straw for the network.
The 43-year-old Pierce, who had been working as an NBA analyst for ESPN, got fired in April. He has since taken other public shots at his ex-employer.
As for James, he was Pierce’s longtime rival in the Eastern Conference. This is obviously far from the first time that ESPN has gotten criticized for their perceived over-coverage of The King.
