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Former NBA Finals MVP and 2008 NBA champion with the Boston Celtics, Paul Pierce, recently sat down with Lance Armstrong on the Star on Mars series.
Paul’s time with ESPN was the next chapter of his career after earning over $195 million playing in the NBA. But he lost that job in an instant after sharing a video that blew up on social media.
The two discussed Paul Pierce losing his ESPN job after sharing video of a stripper dancing at a private poker game back in April 2021.
Paul Pierce told Lance Armstrong “It was a big whole controversy. I mean it wasn’t nothing illegal, but it was just girls … girls shaking their a–.”
Somehow some way, Lance Armstrong had never heard about this controversy. He asked Paul how the video got out and Pierce quickly admitted that he shared it to the world himself.
This wasn’t the first time that Pierce has spoken about the incident. And it wasn’t the first time he maintains that no laws were broken.
In September 2021, Pierce sat for a Sports Illustrated profile where he shared many of the talking points above. In that profile, Pierce said ” didn’t do anything illegal. These mother f—— in the Hall of Fame, some did [cocaine], f—— battery. What the f— did I do? I was just having a good time.
All the people coming after me, half you mother f—— 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.”
In hindsight, it doesn’t seem as if that video would have had lasting power if it didn’t result in Paul’s firing. If there was an indefinite suspension and/or they pumped the brakes for a few weeks or months before making a decision, it is hard to imagine that costing him his job if there was an apology issued.
This new FOX show that Paul Pierce appeared on, Life on Mars, is a quintessential Summer reality TV show. It’s the slow season and there’s a writers strike… So they get a group of celebrities each week to go pretend to live on Mars with 2-3 eliminations each episode…