Having an intimate relationship with a Celtics staffer while engaged to Nia Long, Ime Udoka has just been suspended by the Boston franchise for the entire 2022-23 season. A sanction that many consider too severe given the “consensual” nature of the relationship, but a new twist could modify this sentence: according to the latest revelations, there could have been harassment…
If some of you had a hard time understanding the heavy penalty imposed on Ime Udoka, perhaps Shams Charania’s latest report will shed some light. According to the informant the athletic, the woman the Celtics coach was talking to an extramarital affair recently accused the latter of having made “undesirable comments” towards her. Although we don’t know the exact nature of these comments (or whether or not they were made in public), which can range from lame jokes to insults or even harassment, this necessarily shuffles the cards in this case. Because it has led the Celtics to question various members of the franchise in recent days / weeks, while the first rumors within the franchise about this “consensual” relationship date back to last July. Interviews that then led, again according to Shams, to a multi-hour team meeting consisting of president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and the team’s owners, as well as an exchange between Stevens, the front office and the players. Verdict: one-season suspension therefore for Ime Udoka’s coachBut something tells us we may have already seen the coach’s last game on the Celtics’ bench.
It’s over for Ime Udoka as coach in Boston.
I know most will focus on suspension, but the latest report from @ShamsCharania It is clear: we are closer to a trial for harassment than a slap on the wrist.
It is simply unacceptable.
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) September 23, 2022
Pending further details on the content of these “undesirable comments”, the athletic he also tells us “that a decision will be made at a later date on Udoka’s future with the Celtics after this season.” Translation, his return to the bench is far from assured even as he completes his one-year suspension. The decision of the Boston franchise will probably depend on future revelations about this case. case that really shakes the Celtics days before training camp and less than a month before the first game of the regular season. Today, newcomers to the NBA Finals, the Cs will have to move forward with former Udoka assistant Joe Mazzula, who will have the enormous task of keeping the Greens in the top flight of the Eastern Conference despite this context obviously. complicated.
We should gradually learn more about the real nature of this relationship between Ime Udoka and the Celtics staffer, and especially about what lies behind the terms “unwelcome comments.” Because if it gets to the bullying stage, there’s a good chance the Celtics coach’s suspension will turn outright to be fired…
Text source: Atlético