A video of Paul Pierce partying with strippers and alcohol made the rounds on social media over the weekend. There was a lot of uproar over the NSFW dancing and Pierce smoking (either weed or a cigarette) and many wondered what his employer’s response would be, given that ESPN is owned by the family friendly and image conscious Disney.
Now multiple outlets are reporting that ESPN has let Pierce go. BSM’s own Ryan Glasspiegel reports that there is no wait. Pierce is out effective immediately.
Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports reports that ESPN declined to offer further comment.
Pierce didn’t offer much of a comment of his own either. He did post a video to Twitter that showed him seeming less than bothered by the news.
One aspect that has been speculated about as a possible final straw is that Pierce’s NBA Countdown co-star Rachel Nichols was dragged into the story by viewers that commented on the video. At one point, the story was trending on Twitter with Nichols’s name attached despite her having nothing to do with Pierce’s partying.
