ESPN fires Pierce after Instagram post
NBA analyst Paul Pierce has been fired by ESPN, people familiar with the situation confirmed.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to publicly comment on personnel matters.
The news was first reported by Barrett Sports Media.
Pierce, who played 19 seasons in the NBA, worked for the network since 2017, including being a part of the “NBA Countdown” pregame show. He posted an Instagram video Friday night that showed him playing poker and smoking with scantily clad dancers performing in the background.
Pierce, the MVP of the 2008 NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics, addressed his future on Twitter, posting, “Big Things coming soon stay tuned make sure u smile #Truthshallsetufree.”
NFL: The Jets traded quarterback Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers, ending months of speculation and a stint in New York that was marked by a few flashes of brilliance, inconsistent play and unfortunate injuries. With the Jets holding the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft, they’re likely moving on to another young QB. New York got a sixthround pick in this year’s draft and second and fourthround picks in the 2022 draft.
⏩ Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis tweeted an antiAsian slur, then apologized and said he didn’t understand the offensive nature of a word and thought he was using a term meaning “lame.”
NHL: League goal leader Auston Matthews scored twice and Jack Campbell made 26 saves to tie a franchise record with his ninth straight win as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Flames 53 in Calgary.
⏩ Travis Sanheim scored 3:08 into overtime, and the visiting Philadelphia Flyers beat Boston 32 after losing their first five meetings with the Bruins this season.
⏩ Michael Bunting had a hat trick as the Arizona Coyotes beat the Kings 52 in Los Angeles.
⏩ Nathan MacKinnon, Andre Burakovsky, Brandon Saad and J.T. Compher scored during Colorado’s fourgoal second period, and the Avalanche extended their leaguebest points streak to 15 games with a 54 win in Minnesota.
⏩ Eric Staal scored in overtime in his Montreal debut, giving the Canadiens a 32 comefrombehind win over visiting Edmonton.
⏩ PierreLuc Dubois scored twice to lead Winnipeg to a 43 victory over visiting Ottawa.
⏩ Alec Martinez scored two goals and William Carrier added a goal and an assist, sparking Vegas to a 61 win in St. Louis.
College basketball: North Carolina is staying in the family for its new men’s coach, selecting former player and current assistant coach Hubert Davis to lead the program. Davis, 50, who played for head coach Dean Smith from 1988 through ’92, will be the first Black head coach in the history of the program. He has spent the past nine seasons as an assistant under Roy Williams, who announced his retirement Thursday . ... Loyola Chicago promoted assistant Drew Valentine, 29, to head coach, hoping he can build on the success the Ramblers experienced under Porter Moser, who left to take over the program at Oklahoma . ... Texas Tech promoted top assistant Mark Adams to replace Chris Beard as its head coach.
Olympics: North Korea said it will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics because of concerns about the coronavirus.