Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce arranged a visit to a strip club for the parents of an Arizona State recruit during the 2021 COVID-19 dead period, according to an NCAA investigation.
As a result, the NCAA preemptively suspended Pierce for one year, should he ever decide to return to the NFL’s college ranks.
At the time, Pierce served as the Sun Devils’ defensive coordinator under former NFL head coach Herm Edwards. However, it was Pierce who Arizona State officials said was the “ringleader” of an improper recruiting scheme that gave the Sun Devils early access to prospects at a time when in-person visits were banned due to the pandemic.
The alleged incident occurred four years ago, when Pierce and other staff members arranged for as many as 10 prospects and their families to visit the school’s campus in Tempe, Arizona. The trip included free hotel accommodation for players and their families, as well as trips to a bowling alley and video game arcade. There were free meals, a van with driver and an extensive tour of the Sun Devils’ football facility.
During one night, Pierce and non-coaching staff member Anthony Garnett told the staff to drive the van to a nearby men’s club. And although the female employee was against following the order, she was told to serve as the designated driver.
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce speaks to reporters in September
“Just get in the van and drive,” she was told, according to the NCAA investigation.
Eventually, Pierce, Garnett and the parents of a potential client visited the club.
In its report, the NCAA claims that Pierce did not fear punishment because of his personal fortune. However, in June, Pierce was named in his wife’s bankruptcy filing after allegedly investing in car dealerships that defaulted on $28 million in loans.
“Pierce knowingly and flagrantly ignored basic dead period law to orchestrate the majority of the violations in this case,” the NCAA report said. “Pierce’s opposition and indifference to NCAA rules was motivated in part 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.
“Also according to one employee, Pierce was not afraid of the potential consequences of NCAA violations because of the financial security provided by his self-proclaimed wealth. In his role, Pierce had primary control over the football program’s selection and oversight of coaching staff recruiting activities. “Pierce used his position of authority to pressure staff members to commit violations, often by 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
In April, it was revealed that Arizona State’s football program would receive four years’ probation and an undisclosed fine for recruiting violations under Edwards, who was dismissed from the school in 2022.
In addition, four former employees of the university were fined between 3 and 10 years for sham cause. And while it wasn’t revealed at the time, one of those former employees is Pierce, who now faces an eight-year show-cause order. That means for the next eight years, any NCAA program that hires Pierce will have to “show reasons” why it shouldn’t be penalized.
Meanwhile, Garnett received a five-year show-cause order.
The Sun Devils also had to forgo games involving ineligible players, see scholarships reduced and face recruiting restrictions.
Arizona State, which imposed its own postseason ban in 2023, remains eligible for bowl games after the 2024 regular season, the first in the Big 12.
Jason Leonard, Oklahoma’s executive director of athletics compliance and chief hearing officer for the NCAA Committee on Infractions, noted Arizona State’s cooperation.
The NCAA found that Pierce and Garnett had arranged the trip for the recruit’s parents
“The school’s acceptance of responsibility and decision to impose meaningful core penalties itself is a model for all schools to follow and is consistent with the expectations of the NCAA’s infractions program,” Leonard said in an April statement.
The trouble came about three years ago when Arizona State allegedly committed violations related to recruiting restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 “dead period.”
The NCAA said Edwards, fired after three games in 2022, committed a “breach of responsibility” and that ASU allowed “recruiting inducements, impermissible tryouts” and was found to have committed tampering.
“The COVID dead period rules were established 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,” Arizona State President Michael Crow said. “ASU is disappointed and embarrassed by the actions of certain former football staffers who took advantage of a global pandemic to cover up their conduct.”
Pierce is perhaps best known for rushing 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 prior to 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” tag in January.
Previously, the former Super Bowl winner was 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, is also listed in that case.
Outside of the NFL, Pierce is perhaps best known for rushing 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 criminal wrongdoing in the incident after allegedly trying to hide Burress. ‘ gun in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.