Pierce unloads on ESPN and NBA hypocrites!

Paul Pierce is heading into the Basketball Hall of Fame later this week in Springfield and opened up a number of topics with Chris Mannix of SI.com ahead of that induction on Tuesday.
The Celtics legend hasn’t spoken much publicly following his abrupt exit from ESPN in April in the wake of Instagram live being posted that also included exotic dancers. Pierce had been an ESPN NBA Countdown analyst for the network since his retirement in 2017 but parted ways with the network just days after the video went viral.

However, Pierce did not hold back in his latest interview, defending the Instagram video while saying his time at ESPN was likely coming to an end regardless.
“I was done with them, anyway,” Pierce told Mannix. “It wasn’t a great fit. There’s a lot of stuff over there that you can’t say. And you have to talk about LeBron all the time.”
Pierce’s agent Jeff Schwartz suggested that Pierce should apologize for the video ahead of his Basketball Hall of Fame candidacy in the Spring but the 10-time All-Star was adamant the video was not worthy of an apology.
“Come on, I didn’t do anything illegal,” Pierce said. “These motherf-----s in the Hall of Fame, some did [cocaine], f---ing battery. What the f--- did I do? I was just having a good time. All the people coming after me, half you motherf-----s 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.”
Pierce was elected to the Hall of Fame back in May and will be presented by former teammate Kevin Garnett upon his induction this Saturday in Springfield. The close friends are considering starting a video or podcast together soon that features the duo doing things they couldn’t in their NBA days.

“Skydiving. Maybe a bull run in Spain. Get motorcycles and travel around. Experience different cultures, different foods. That would be so much fun.”
Pierce was a one-time NBA champion and Finals MVP with the Celtics during his 19 NBA seasons. He ranks among the top 20 players all-time in NBA scoring (26,397 points), free throws made and three-point field goals made. His No. 34 has already been retired by the Celtics and Kansas Jayhawks after an All-American career in college.
Pierce will be joined by another Celtic (Bill Russell as a coach) in a nine member Class of 2021 for the Basketball Hall of Fame. The other NBA players in the class include two-time NBA champion Chris Bosh, four-time NBA defensive player of the year Ben Wallace and five-time All-Star Chris Webber.

Good for him! Go Paul!!

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2021/09/paul-pierce-unloads-on-espn-after-instagram-video-you-have-to-talk-about-lebron-all-the-time.html