NBA Hall of Fame forward Paul Pierce has been arrested and booked on suspicion of DUI charges.
Law enforcement officers say they found Pierce, 47, asleep at the wheel on a freeway in Los Angeles, California, on Tuesday, October 7.
This isn’t the first time Paul Pierce has dealt with public scandals. For example, the NBA star was fired from his role as an analyst on ESPN in April 2021 after sharing a video of himself drinking, smoking, and spending time with exotic dancers.
According to several media outlets, including TMZ and CBS News, Pierce was taken into custody late Tuesday evening after officers from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) found him asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle.
The report says that officers were responding to the 101 Freeway for a crash that closed lanes. As the lanes reopened, they noticed a Range Rover stopped in the middle of the road.
“When officers approached, they found the driver, later identified as Paul Pierce, asleep at the wheel,” the CHP stated. “Officers noted signs of alcohol impairment and conducted a DUI investigation.”
Pierce, a 19-year NBA veteran, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, cited, and later released.
During his nearly two-decade career in the league, Pierce played for four teams but spent the majority of his career with the Boston Celtics.
He’s a graduate of Inglewood High School and spent three years at the University of Kansas.
Pierce is a McDonald’s All-American, 10x NBA All-Star, and NBA Champion. He earned the coveted NBA Finals MVP title in 2008.
After wrapping up his time in the league, Pierce worked for ESPN as an NBA Analyst. However, after sharing a risqué video of him and his friends smoking marijuana and enjoying the presence of exotic dancers, the basketball champion was let go from the network.
Pierce opened up about his firing during an appearance on the “I Am Athlete” podcast, where he asked, “I got fired for what?”
“I got fired for having some entertainment. Im playing cards. Its my boys birthday. Its girls dancing. Were blowing some tree. What did I do wrong?” he wondered. “I dont ever go live either, I was just feeling my [hair] cut or something, and then it was popping behind me.”
Pierce explained that he later received a phone call from an executive at ESPN, who revealed she was investigating the video. When the higher-up asked what he was doing in the footage, Pierce replied that it was “self-explanatory.”
“At the end of the day, its Disney, and they have a morals clause, and they just said it was immoral,” he said.
On social media, several users responded to the news of Pierce’s arrest and expressed genuine concern over the athlete’s well-being.
“Sometimes you need to reach out to your friends when you see them struggling,” someone wrote, while another posted, “He needs help, man.”
Someone else chimed in with, “I’ll pray for him. Find Jesus, please,” and another said, “You need to slow down, bro. He’s been turning up and nonstop since retirement.”
A fifth user echoed that sentiment, posting, “Y’all might laugh, but I think dude needs genuine help. Deada-s.”
“Buddy really got a problem,” another netizen wrote, adding, “It’s getting very concerning.”
Pierce isn’t the only professional athlete-turned-commentator who has been let go from the ESPN roster.
According to a previous report from The Blast, Super Bowl champion Shannon Sharpe was also fired from the company in the summer of 2025 after a 21-year-old woman filed a lawsuit against the former Denver Broncos star, alleging he r-ped and abused her.
Sharpe revealed on his podcast, “Nightcap,” that he learned he was being axed from the company before it became public news.
He also shared that he asked the company to delay sharing the news by a few days because he didn’t want to “overshadow” his brother, Sterling Sharpe’s, induction into the NFL Hall of Fame.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way,” Sharpe said. “But I just wish … this thing could’ve waited until Monday, because I hate the fact that I’m overshadowing my brother.”
Sharpe eventually settled the lawsuit with the 21-year-old for an undisclosed amount; however, reports suggest the number was at least seven figures.