Antonio Durran Pierce is a former
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
linebackerA linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
. He was signed by the
Washington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He played
college footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at
ArizonaThe Arizona Wildcats football team is the football team of the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The team competes in the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level.-Early years:...
.
Pierce also played for the
New York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Early years
Pierce played
high school footballHigh school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
at
Paramount High SchoolParamount High School is a comprehensive public high school in Paramount, California. The school serves students in grades 9-12 on two campuses, West Campus for 9th grade students and Senior Campus for grades 10-12...
in
Paramount, CaliforniaParamount is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 54,098 down from 55,266 at the 2000 census...
. He played two years of football at Mount San Antonio College in
Walnut, CaliforniaWalnut is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 29,172 at the 2010 census and its current mayor is Tom King, a former Detective from the Los Angeles Police Department....
, before transferring to the
University of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
. As a senior at Arizona, he had three sacks, 77 tackles (ten for losses), two forced fumbles, one interception, and one blocked kick.
Pierce was not taken in the
2001 NFL DraftThe 2001 NFL Draft took place on April 21–22, 2001 at the theater at Madison Square Garden, in New York City. This was the 66th National Football League draft in league history. The draft was broadcast on ESPN both days and eventually moved to ESPN2. No teams elected to claim any players in the...
after his senior year at Arizona because many NFL scouts considered him too undersized to play linebacker in the NFL.
Washington Redskins
The
Washington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
signed him as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2001. He played in all 16 games as a rookie, with only eight starts. He recorded 52 tackles, one sack, and one interception during his rookie campaign. The interception came against
Jake PlummerJason Steven "Jake" Plummer is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona State....
. Over the next two seasons, Pierce played sporadically, recording only 18 and 15 tackles respectively, during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. It was not until the 2004 season, his fourth in the league, that he played a full season replacing the injured
Micheal BarrowMicheal Christian Barrow is a former American football linebacker of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the second round of the 1993 NFL Draft...
. That season Pierce logged a career high 114 tackles, 95 of them solo. He also had one forced fumble, one sack and two interceptions, including a pick off
Ken DorseyKenneth Simon "Ken" Dorsey is a former football quarterback. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Miami. A two-time Heisman Trophy finalist at Miami, Dorsey played for the Cleveland Browns from 2006–2008...
returned 76 yards for a
touchdownA touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
.
New York Giants
The
New York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
signed Pierce on March 3, 2005 to start at middle linebacker. He became the captain of the defense, and in 13 games, Pierce notched 100 tackles, 80 of them solo, two interceptions and one forced fumble returned for a touchdown. His 2005 season ended early as he suffered a leg injury, against the
Philadelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and missed the final three regular season games and the Giants' only postseason game, a 23-0 loss to the
Carolina PanthersThe Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
.
In 2006, Pierce recorded a career-high 138 tackles (109 solo), a sack, an interception, and defended eight passes. Pierce was named as a first alternate for the
Pro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
. He was invited to play in Hawaii after
Brian UrlacherBrian Keith Urlacher is an American football player for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League . He attended the University of New Mexico, where he was one of the school's most decorated athletes. In addition to setting multiple university records, Urlacher earned consideration for the...
suffered a toe injury in
Super Bowl XLISuper Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
, and withdrew from the Pro Bowl.
Pierce was released on February 11, 2010.
Retirement
Following his release, Pierce announced his retirement from football on July 8, 2010. He also stated that he would then begin his career as an NFL analyst for
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
Personal
Pierce is married to Jocelyn and the father of four. He currently resides in Monroe Township, NJ.
Inspired by his own experiences growing up in Compton, it has become his mission to improve the quality of life for the youth in the Long Beach/Compton area. For several years, Pierce has offered a free football camp for underprivileged youths.
In 2006, Pierce became the spokesperson for Giants Academy—a program for inner city youth geared toward helping these children succeed despite obstacles in their life. He is also involved in the "Read Across America" program where he reads to children whose parents are undergoing treatment for chemical dependency at the Odyssey House in Harlem.
In 2007, Pierce received the "United Way Man of the Year" award and was honored by the Catholic Diocese for his support of the community.
Pierce was honored at the 2008 ESPY awards along with the Giants.
Legal troubles
Pierce was present when teammate
Plaxico BurressPlaxico Antonio Burress is an American football wide receiver who currently plays for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers eighth overall in the 2000 NFL Draft...
accidentally shot himself in the thigh at the
Latin Quarter Night ClubLatin Quarter is a nightclub in New York City.The Club which originally opened in 1942 featured big name acts. In recent years it has been a focus of hip hop, reggaeton, and salsa music....
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on November 28, 2008. Police say that Pierce drove Burress to the hospital and then returned home with the gun in his glove compartment. The police impounded Pierce's SUV to search for blood and gunpowder residue. Burress has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon; however Pierce was not indicted on any charges. On August 3, 2009, Antonio Pierce was cleared of all criminal charges stemming from Plaxico Buress weapons charge.
Broadcasting
Pierce served as a communications intern on the
Howard Stern ShowThe Howard Stern Show is an American radio show hosted by its namesake Howard Stern. It gained wide recognition in the 1990s when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1986 to 2005...
on May 7, 2008. He stated he would like to pursue a career in broadcasting after his NFL career. Near the end of the day's show he asked to stay for the remainder of the week and Howard agreed.
External links