When it comes to Paul Pierce, it can’t be anything but entertaining. During the Knicks-Celtics playoff series, he declared on FS1’s “Speak” that he would walk 15 miles to the studio in a bathrobe and barefoot if the Celtics lost. ‘The Truth’ was a man of his word and did complete the task, entertaining fans with his theatrics. But this entertainment stunt proved to be costly, with him losing a significant amount. Yes, the former champion recalled the viral video that led to him getting fired by ESPN.

It was in April 2021 when ESPN decided to relieve the Celtics legend from broadcasting duty. It reached this stage because Paul Pierce went live on Instagram and shared a part of his life, which included drinking, smoking, and exotic dancers. Interestingly, on his Truth After Dark series, he revealed that it was his first time live streaming on Instagram, and he did not expect it would lead to his firing.

“That’s my first time I ever been live. So I got drinking, I was like, ‘Damn they lit they going crazy.’ So I was like ‘Oh s— it’s lit right now.’ It’s my boy birthday, we playing poker, you know. And it was like the girls aren’t even strippers, they’re regular like poker girls.” Even today, Paul Pierce calls the party ‘lit,’ but it left a dent in his bank account. The live was on April 2, 2021, and just three days later, ESPN fired him on April 5, 2021.

The recent Truth After Dark episode featured podcaster & published author Mandii B alongside Bay Area rapper, Guapdad4000. It was the former who asked about the real extent of losing his job at ESPN. “I was about to quit anyway. I had two more months left, and I was tired of wearing a suit every day, lost the bag. So if I had to say how much I lost at the time, 200k maybe.”

Pierce admitted that he was in his final year of the contract, and already reports of him not listening to the higher-ups had resurfaced. Maybe that’s why losing his ESPN job doesn’t sting him as he joined Skip Bayless and FS1 in March 2024. Apart from this, he continues his podcast career alongside another Celtics legend, Kevin Garnett.

Paul Pierce reveals the true intention of ESPN for his removal

The Boston Celtics legend immediately joined ESPN as a studio analyst and broadcaster after his retirement. The 2008 NBA champion was a prominent face on shows like ‘The Jump’ and ‘NBA Countdown’ on the channel. His first two years were a smooth experience, but that run changed. It all went downhill after that. Reports emerged about his lack of preparation for segments, leading to reduced screen time for his role in 2019. Eventually, he was let go in 2021.

Previously, he questioned the nature of his firing. “I got fired for what? I got fired for having some entertainment… What did I do wrong?” Although there wasn’t anything illegal in the video, Paul Pierce felt that ESPN wanted to protect its image. “But you know, at the end of the day, it’s Disney, and they have a morals clause, and they just said it was immoral.”

After that issue, the NBA icon continued to focus on informal analysis on podcasts, before the offer from Fox Sports came along. In March 2024, he joined the sports talk show ‘Undisputed’, hosted by Skip Bayless. But that was also short-lived as Bayless’ departure meant the discontinuation of Undisputed in August last year. But Paul Pierce moved to the sports talk show Speak, where his recent 15-mile challenge went viral for the right reasons.