ESPN fired NBA analyst Paul Pierce, a source confirmed to The Post.
The decision was made after Pierce posted spicy videos on Instagram on Friday, showing him smoking what looked like marijuana and with half-naked women who may have been strippers.
The news was first reported by Ryan Glasspiegel of Barrett Sports Media.
Pierce, 43, is on a somewhat downward trajectory on ESPN, but has remained steadfast enough to be a regular contributor to the main studio programs, “NBA Countdown” and “The Jump”. During a recent show, he aired and said the wrong team won. It was fixed quickly.
According to sources, ESPN was particularly offended because Pierce chose to release the videos on his own. If he had been filmed doing the same activities and they were made public by someone else, he may have kept his job.
When the news was made public on Monday, Pierce took to Twitter and posted a four-second video that said “Smile” and the message “Big things coming soon, stay tuned, make sure to smile #Truthshallsetufree.”
Pierce is expected to be elected at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this year.
ESPN, which declined to comment, has no immediate plans to replace Pierce, as it has a number of analysts to rotate.