The announcement comes after ESPN fired Pierce in April for live-streaming himself smoking what appeared to be marijuana, with exotic dancers twerking in the background.
Pierce made a remarkably quick physical recovery from the assault, emerging from New England Medical Center just days later and assuring fans he couldn’t wait to get back on the court.
While Pierce willed his way to an impressive individual season, playing all 82 games on a middling Celtics squad, the attack left him paranoid, anxious, depressed, and maybe most of all, sleepless.
The league doctors just say, ‘Take this, take that, here’s a prescription,’ ” Pierce said.
“You really couldn’t do it while you were playing during the season because of the tests, but there were times I couldn’t even help it — I took an edible or smoked a joint just to get some sleep, and had to deal with the consequences.
Pierce said during his career, he would also consume regularly during summers when league-mandated testing paused.
Pierce likely passes that sniff test, Waterfall said.