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Antonio Pierce’s wife, Jocelyn, has reportedly filed for bankruptcy. Court documents show that the Raiders head coach’s spouse did so while citing a failed car dealership venture.
Jason Morrin, a sports law reporter for Conduct Detrimental, posted those docs on his X timeline on Tuesday.
NEW: Jocelyn Pierce, wife of Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce, files for bankruptcy.
Per the filing, Mr. Pierce invested in car dealerships that defaulted on their loans. He was named as a guarantor of judgments = over $28M. Lenders now seek to satisfy judgments from marital assets. pic.twitter.com/Eiw5QRA3VY
— Jason Morrin (@Jason_Morrin) June 25, 2024
For Pierce, who was hired January, it’s an unwanted distraction as he gears up for Year 1.
He went 5-4 in an interim role last season before being promoted to his current full-time position, which landed much praise inside the Las Vegas locker room.
Now, he faces an off-field headline as the “guarantor of judgements equaling over $28 million.” A pair of lenders, one being Nissan Motor Acceptance Company and another being Hyundai Capital America, tried to garnish his wages as an attempt to satisfy that debt.
Mrs. Pierce filed for bankruptcy on 6/12/24 but claims she did not sign any personal guaranty on the loans. Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation (holding a $23M judgment) and Hyundai Capital America ($4.5M judgment), recently attempted to garnish Mr. Pierce’s wages.
-Jason Morrin / X: @Jason_Morrin
The court filing broke the situation down further.
“In the 2010s, Mr. Pierce was convinced to invest in car dealerships,” that filing read. “Despite his role as a mere passive investor with no oversight or management of the businesses’ affairs, Mr. Pierce was asked to sign various documents. Although the debtor has no direct knowledge of the events, personal guaranties were later produced bearing Mr. Pierce’s name. When several of the businesses defaulted on their loans, the lenders obtained judgements against the businesses and Mr. Pierce as a guarantor.”
Antonio Pierce is in the midst of his first head coaching offseason.
Having run through minicamp and OTAs, he’d hoped to begin turning the attention to the 2024 season. The Raiders are coming off an 8-9 campaign where they missed the postseason a year ago, though Pierce saw success in his interim role.
He takes over for Josh McDaniel, who went just 9-16 in his head coaching stint with the franchise.
Prior to his recent promotion, Pierce worked as an assistant for both Las Vegas and the Arizona State Sun Devils. This, coming after a nine-year NFL career as a linebacker with the Giants and Commanders.
His tenure as the Raiders’ leader is off to a rocky start. We’ll see if it has any impact on his success moving forward.