Former NBA star Paul Pierce was fired from his basketball analyst role with ESPN on Monday, according to Front Office Sports and confirmed by The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch.
The firing came three days after Pierce posted video of himself drinking and smoking with exotic dancers to his Instagram Live, which also led to a stream of misogynistic tweets about The Jump host Rachel Nichols.
Though ESPN declined to comment on its decision to part ways with the 10-time NBA All-Star, Pierce was back on social media almost immediately after news of his firing went public.
He posted video of himself laughing to both Twitter and his Instagram Story with the hashtag “smile” included in the clip.
Big Things coming soon stay tuned make sure u smile #Truthshallsetufree pic.twitter.com/YIaJMcNQoH
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) April 5, 2021
“Big things coming soon,” he wrote in the tweet.
Pierce joined ESPN as an analyst for NBA Countdown and The Jump shortly after his retirement in 2017.
