Paul Pierce’s NBA show ‘Speak’ on Fox Sports 1 has been cancelled with two other shows, in a major shake-up at the sports broadcasting giant, FS1, amid falling TV ratings. This news comes just days after Pierce called out LeBron James for not naming him with Kevin Durant as the best-equipped scorer in NBA history.
As a result of the major changes, Fox Sports 1 has also let Joy Taylor, the renowned TV host, go altogether. According to Andrew Merchand of The Athletic, Joy Taylor’s contract was up with FS1, and they decided not to renew her contract amid her ongoing lawsuit controversy, despite nearly a decade with the company.
Simultaneously, FS1 also cancelled two other shows, ‘The Facility’ with Emmanuel Acho, Chase Daniel, James Jones, and LeSean McCoy, and ‘The Breakfast Ball’ hosted by Craig Carton, Mark Schlereth, and Danny Parkins.
What Paul Pierce Said About LeBron James And Kevin Durant
Just days before Fox Sports 1 decided to cancel ‘Speak’, which was co-hosted by Paul Pierce, Keyshawn Johnson, and Joy Taylor, Pierce made some eye-opening comments on the show that went viral on social media.
Kevin Durant’s podcast episode with LeBron James had just been released, where James hailed Durant for being arguably the most equipped scorer in NBA history. Pierce seemingly was offended by that and felt he also belonged in the same discussion.
He went on ‘Speak’ and expressed his opinions on what James said, following which he faced backlash from fans for seeming overconfident about his abilities.
“I was probably the best pure scorer in the history of the game, because I was pretty equipped. I’m just saying, I need to be in this conversation… I must’ve been one of the most equipped.”
“I think when he talks about him, he talks about efficiency. Cause I shot more bad shots than Kevin… but Kevin, because he’s seven feet, he can get his shot off on anybody. He doesn’t really see defense, you know what I’m saying? That’s why he’s so efficient; there’s nobody at his height on the perimeter. He changed the way you look at perimeter; he pretty much changed the game on the perimeter. Like being a seven-foot two-guard?”
“Like, come on, the biggest two-guard when I came in was 6’5 or 6’6… he’s a center playing at the point guard, two-guard. All his match-ups and the way he shoots the ball and gets to the hole, he is efficient with it. So I can see why LeBron would say that, but you got to put me in that talk when you talk about the most-equipped scorers, man.”
While the clips from the show itself went viral and thousands of people saw it, the TV ratings remained stagnant and seemingly on the decline. The cancellation comes as part of broader programming changes at the network, though the timing raises questions about the role of recent controversies.
On one hand, Taylor had worked with the network for nearly a decade, but on the other, this is not the first time a TV network has cut ties with Pierce. In 2021, as well, following an Instagram Live video controversy, ESPN cut ties with Paul Pierce before he joined FS1 in 2024.
Things seem to be on pause for Pierce’s career as a TV host, but the bigger question here is whether the recent controversies pushed FS1 to make the call on this. I guess we’ll never know, or only time will tell if reliable sources surface on this. For now, they claim it is only the falling TV ratings that prompted this decision.
