5 Athletes or Coaches who got Fired for the Dumbest Reasons

In the wake of the Paul Pierce scandal where he got fired from his full time job as an ESPN analyst for going live with a room full of strippers, we take a look at other sports celebs who got fired for doing the dumbest things.

1. Gilbert Arenas

Gilbert Arenas was a sharpshooting point guard for the Wizards, but he did go a bit overboard.

An All-Star career affected due to injuries and, more importantly, threatened a teammate Javaris Crittenton with a set of guns. Gilbert was standing in front of his two locker stalls, the ones previously used by Michael Jordan, with four guns on display. Javaris was standing in front of his own stall, his back to Gilbert. “Hey, Motherf*cka, come pick one,” Gilbert told Javaris while pointing to the weapons. “I’m going to shoot your [expletive] with one of these.”

Gilbert was suspended for the remainder of the 2009-10 season.

2. Rick Pitino

Rick Pitino was accused of organizing sex parties for his recruits. Players like now 6th man of the year, Montrezl Harrell supposingly had sex with girls that were paid from Rick Pitino or from his assistant.

3. Johnny Manziel 

Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel of No. 7 Texas A&M was suspended in 2013 when he broke the NCAA Bylaw. He was said to have violated the NCAA law that prohibits student-athletes from accepting money for promotion or sale of a product or service.

Several autograph dealers alleged Manziel accepted thousands of dollars for signing thousands of autographs. 

He was sanctioned for the act which he denied.

4. OJ Mayo

OJ Mayo is one of the many persons who suffered a ban or suspension for not conforming to the NBA ‘s standards or laws.

He was banned in 2016 from the NBA after he admitted to smoking marijuana and abusing a prescription pain medication.

These two vices triggered his two-year ban. He played for Milwaukee Bucks before his ban. 

5. Ron Artest

Ron Artest was suspended for the rest of the 2004 season for fighting with fans during a melee that broke at the end of a game against Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers.

Till date, Artest’s suspension is one of  the strongest ever levied for a fight during a game.