Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce is well-known for living life in the fast lane. However, who’s paying for it has never been a topic of conversation — until now.
Pierce is being sued by a friend who alleges that he loaned him close to $200k for a private poker game that Pierce never paid back. Pierce reportedly lost the money during the poker game.
Stephen Carmona’s lawsuit against “The Truth” began after hosting a poker game on Jan. 27 at his home. When Pierce showed up, he had his hand out, asking Carmona to lend him money to enter the game, and Carmona says he obliged.
The Price For Entry
The allegation is that he lent Pierce $150,000, with which Pierce gambled and lost $140,000. According to the lawsuit, the Los Angeles native and Boston Celtics champion then handed Carmona back the remaining $10,000 that he didn’t bet but was light to the tune of $140K.
However, Pierce reportedly promised to pay Carmona back within seven days but allegedly never did. However, a week later, during another poker game, Pierce showed up and again asked to borrow money from Carmona, this time to the tune of $40,000.
Even though Pierce didn’t pay back the initial debt, Carmona still lent him more, with a renewed promise by Pierce to pay it back along with the earlier borrowed amount.
Bad Debt
Pierce lost the entire $40,000 during the second gambling night, and Carmona alleges that he skated on paying the whole loan back.
Now out $180,000, Carmona is taking his grievance to court “despite multiple requests for repayment,” according to Carmona. The lawsuit also states that Carmona wants interest on the $180K.
Pierce has been seen at the sidelines of his former team, the Boston Celtics, during their current Finals run against the Golden State Warriors. He hasn’t made any comments about the allegations, nor has Carmona said how he could prove that the money was a loan or a gift.
The Court Of Public Opinion
However, Pierce has taken some “L’s” in the court of public opinion.
In 2020, Pierce was sued for lack of completion of cannabis growing operation after being accused of bilking the grower. Kenneth Johnson claims that in 2016, Pierce hired him to “design and develop a warehouse to cultivate cannabis from inception to completion,” according to the lawsuit.
Claiming that Pierce offered him $10,000 per month, plus relocation to Los Angeles, Johnson said that Pierce reduced the proposed payment to $4,000, saying that the actual rate wasn’t possible until the product was on the market to be sold.
However, the plants weren’t brought and cultivated in the warehouse until late 2018, and by late 2019, he still wasn’t getting the payment promised.
The Party
Pierce made headlines when he attended a party with exotic dancers and posted a video of it on his Instagram account. At the time, he was still an ESPN NBA analyst. However, his contract was cut soon after.
“Come on, I didn’t do anything illegal,” Pierce told Sports Illustrated. “These motherf***ers in the Hall of Fame, some did [cocaine], f***ing battery. What the f*** did I do? I was just having a good time.”
“All the people coming after me, half you motherf***ers do the same s***. You’re just hiding it. And, you all are married while you’re doing it. I’m divorced. I’m retired. I’m having fun.”
Paul Pierce is a wild guy, and now the cost of his extracurricular activities may be catching up with him in yet another iteration.
