Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce arranged a strip club visit for parents of Arizona State recruit during COVID-19 death period in 2021, NCAA investigation finds .
As a result, the NCAA preemptively suspended Pierce for one year in case he ever decided to return to the college ranks from the NFL.
Pierce was serving as the Sun Devils’ defensive coordinator under former NFL head coach Herm Edwards at the time. However, it was Pierce who the Arizona State staff said was the “ringleader” of an inadequate recruiting scheme, which gave the Sun Devils early access to prospects at a time when in-person visits were prohibited due to the pandemic.
The alleged incident took place four years ago, when Pierce and other staff members arranged for no fewer than 10 prospects and their families to visit the school’s campus in Tempe, Arizona. The trip included hotel accommodations at no cost to players and their families, as well as trips to a bowling alley and an arcade. There were free meals, a chauffeur-driven van and an extensive tour of the Sun Devils football facility.
For one night, Pierce and non-coaching staff member Anthony Garnett told the staff to drive the van to a nearby gentlemen’s club. And although the employee was against following the order, she was told that she had to act as the designated driver.
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce speaks to reporters in September
“Just get in the truck and drive,” he was told, according to the NCAA investigation.
In the end, Pierce, Garnett and the prospect’s parents attended the club.
In its report, the NCAA states that Pierce did not fear any punishment because of his personal fortune. However, in June, Pierce was named in his wife’s bankruptcy filing after he allegedly invested in car dealerships that defaulted on $28 million in loans.
“Pierce knowingly and blatantly ignored critical dead period legislation to orchestrate the majority of the violations in this case,” the NCAA report reads. ‘Pierce’s defiance and indifference to NCAA rules was, in part, motivated by his observation that he needed to maintain an aggressive recruiting presence in order to compete with what he believed other institutions were doing during the dead period.
‘Likewise, according to a staff member, Pierce did not fear the potential consequences of NCAA violations because of the financial security his self-proclaimed wealth afforded him. In his role, Pierce had primary control of the football program’s roster and oversight of recruiting activities for members of the coaching staff. Pierce used his position of authority to pressure staff members into committing violations, often instilling fear that they would lose their jobs if they did not follow his orders.
Arizona State Sun Devils coach Antonio Pierce talks with his son, DeAndre Pierce
It was revealed in April that the Arizona State football program would receive four years of probation and an undisclosed fine for recruiting violations under Edwards, who was fired from the school in 2022.
Additionally, four former university employees received just cause sanctions ranging from 3 to 10 years in duration. And although it was not revealed at the time, one of those former employees is Pierce, who now faces an eight-year exposure order. That means that for the next eight years, any NCAA program that hires Pierce will have to “show cause” why he should not be disciplined.
Meanwhile, Garnett received a five-year show cause order.
The Sun Devils also had to abandon games in which ineligible players competed, had their scholarships reduced, and received recruiting restrictions.
Arizona State, which self-imposed a postseason ban in 2023, remains eligible for bowl games after the 2024 regular season, its first in the Big 12.
Jason Leonard, executive director of sports compliance at Oklahoma and hearing director for the NCAA infractions committee, highlighted Arizona State’s cooperation.
The NCAA found that Pierce and Garnett processed the trip for the recruit’s parents.
“The school’s acceptance of responsibility and decision to self-impose significant sanctions is a model for all schools to follow and is consistent with the expectations of the NCAA infractions program,” Leonard said in an April statement.
The issue arose three years ago when the state of Arizona reportedly committed violations associated with recruiting restrictions instituted during the COVID-19 “dead period.”
The NCAA stated that Edwards, fired after three games in 2022, committed an “accountability violation” and that ASU allowed “recruiting inducements, inadmissible evidence” and was found to have committed tampering.
“The COVID dead period rules were created not only for the sake of competitive fairness but also for the safety and well-being of prospective and enrolled student-athletes and their families,” said Arizona State President Michael Crow . “ASU is disappointed and embarrassed by the actions of certain former football staff members who took advantage of a global pandemic to hide their behavior.”
Pierce is perhaps best known for taking teammate Plaxico Burress to the hospital in 2008.
Pierce, 45, was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Sun Devils from 2017 to 2021. He resigned before the 2022 season and was hired as the Raiders’ linebackers coach.
The former Giants and Redskins linebacker replaced fired head coach Josh McDaniels in October. The team dropped the “interim” label in January.
The former Super Bowl winner was previously named as a defendant in a class-action lawsuit in Pennsylvania, which remains open, according to a court filing obtained by DailyMail.com. Another former Giants linebacker, Jessie Armstead, also figures in that case.
Outside of the NFL, Pierce is perhaps best known for taking teammate Plaxico Burress to the hospital after the Giants wide receiver accidentally shot himself at a strip club in 2008. Pierce was later cleared of any wrongdoing. criminal in the incident after allegedly trying to hide Burress. ‘ gun immediately after the shooting.