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Paul Pierce Opens Up About ESPN: "You Have to Talk About LeBron all the Time."

Published September 7, 2021 at 2:00 PM
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Former Celtics superstar Paul Pierce was fired as an analyst at ESPN back in April after video of strippers at his private poker game went live on Instagram. It was a messy end to a short career as a knowledgeable commentator on the biggest sports network in the world.

However, it sounds like Pierce didn't like working there. Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Pierce opened up about his time there:

"The relationship between Pierce and the network had become strained over the past two years. Pierce hated the travel. Network executives didn't think he was working hard enough. The video, industry sources told Sports Illustrated, was the last straw. «I was done with them, anyway,» says Pierce between pulls of lemon mint. «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.»



You have to wonder what sort of conflicts Pierce and ESPN had during their time together. And can you really blame the network for forcing their stars to talk about LeBron James often? He's the biggest basketball player on Earth, he's obviously going to be a near-constant part of the discussion. Perhaps Pierce is just unhappy about it because he still holds a grudge from the times when the two players went head-to-head on the court.


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