"I'd be hating too" — Fans jokingly revisit Paul Pierce's IG live controversy after Shannon Sharpe's NSFW video goes viral 

Back in 2021, 10-time NBA All-Star Paul Pierce was fired from ESPN after clips from an Instagram live he was filming went viral. At the time, Pierce was seen at what appeared to be a house party, smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol as scantly clad women danced in the background. This week, NFL legend-turned-sports analyst Shannon Sharpe went viral for an Instagram live of his own.

As fans tuned in to the three-time Super Bowl champion's Instagram live, they were greeted with sounds of the ESPN host getting intimate with a woman. Despite that, ESPN hasn't parted ways with Sharpe, leaving fans with questions.

While Pierce's Instagram live took place at a private house party, ESPN fired him on the grounds that he violated the morality clause of the contract he signed. Given that, it seems as though ESPN would have cause to fire Sharpe given that although he didn't show anything on-camera, he broadcast explicit content online.

As NBA and NFL fans were quick to weigh in on social media, the jokes began to pour in regarding the similarities to Pierce's controversy.

"Lmao nah I’d be hating too," one fan wrote

"Lmao, Paul Pierce looking for the cigar as we speak," another joked

"Yeahhhhhhhhh tough decisions will need to ne made. They've fired others for extreme less," one pointed out

Others also weighed in, with some making jokes at Pierce's expense as well:

"Aint matter Sharpe is 100x better than Paul I pooped my pants pierce" - One wrote

"Not nearly the same situation. Paul was actually recording himself live and was bugging... Unc doesn't appear in the footage at all" - One wrote

Looking at how Shannon Sharpe and Paul Pierce reacted to their Instagram live controversies

This week, after Shannon Sharpe's Instagram live went viral on social media, he appeared on his "Night Cap" show. As he explained, he's never once started or appeared on Instagram live.

Given that, he was unaware that his phone was broadcasting to the world. After initially claiming that he was hacked, Sharpe then explained on his Night Cap show that he wasn't hacked after all:

"I am embarrassed. Someone that is extremely private, and to have one of your most intimate details, the audio heard for the entire world? I'm embarrassed for a number of reasons... I'm very disappointed in myself, not for the act but to have your most intimate detail heard."

So far, ESPN hasn't released a comment on the situation yet, and it's unclear whether or not Sharpe will face any repercussions.

On the flip side, after Pierce took to Instagram live several years ago to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the party he was attending, it took ESPN just two days to fire the former NBA champ.

Last year, in an interview with I Am Athlete, Pierce spoke about the situation, saying he got fired for having a good time:

"I didn’t do nothing illegal, but at the end of the day, it’s Disney, and so, they were like, they have a morals clause, and they just said it was immoral.”

While it's unclear whether or not ESPN will fire Sharpe, the NBA community and the NFL community have kept the jokes coming in light of the recent scandal.