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ESPN firing Paul Pierce should not come as a surprise

COMMENTARY

The scene on Paul Pierce’s Instagram Live video Friday was hazy with smoke. But the truth about why the Celtics great is no longer an ESPN employee could not be any clearer.

Pierce, 43, lost the NBA analyst gig he had held since 2017, three days after he went live on the social media platform Friday night smoking and drinking, with a racy backdrop of occasionally twerking scantily clad women.

Though he was flouting COVID-19 protocols, Pierce broke no laws. He was in California, where smoking marijuana — which he appeared to be doing — is legal.