The sports cable network ended its working relationship with Pierce on Monday, an industry source told CNN Business. ESPN declined to comment that Pierce left the network. Also, representatives for Pierce did not respond immediately to requests for comment. The news of Pierce’s shooting was first reported by Front Office Sports.
Pierce has been a network analyst on several NBA shows. This included the studio show, “The Jump” and his pre-game show “NBA Countdown”. Pierce, nicknamed “The Truth,” won an NBA championship with the Celtics in 2008.
Pierce joined ESPN before the 2017-2018 season.
The bold nature of the live stream was probably a breaking point for ESPN – a family owned company Walt Disney Company (early). Also, Pierce and others in the video do not appear to be wearing masks or following Covid protocols that have been configured on the network.
Apparently, Pierce addressed the situation on Twitter shortly after the news broke.
Monday, Pierce posted a short video about him smiling with the caption: “The big things that are coming soon stay tuned, make sure you smile #Truthshallsetufree”.
Later on Monday, he sent a tweet again written“I can’t lose even when I lose.”
It’s unclear if anyone will replace Pierce in ESPN’s NBA programming or if the network will just turn to other commentators, reporters and analysts to fill his place.