AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, file
Ahead of his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce addressed the video that got him fired from ESPN in April.
Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported on April 5 that ESPN fired Pierce from his role as an analyst after Pierce posted a video on Instagram that appeared to show him smoking marijuana in the presence of barely clothed women.
In an interview with Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated published Tuesday, Pierce said his longtime agent, Jeff Schwartz, suggested he take the video down so as not to hurt his Hall of Fame chances.
Pierce refused and explained why:
“Come on, I didn’t do anything illegal. These motherf–kers in the Hall of Fame, some did [cocaine], f–king battery. What the f–k did I do? I was just having a good time. All the people coming after me, half you motherf–kers do the same s–t. 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.”
Pierce added that if he had been left out of the Hall of Fame because of the video “it would be the biggest stiff job in Hall of Fame history.”
This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.
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