Having an intimate relationship with a Celtics staff member 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 might modify this judgment: according to the latest revelations, there might have been harassment…
If some had trouble understanding the big penalty imposed on Ime Udoka, perhaps the latest report from Shams Charania will serve as a light. According to the insider of The Athletic, the woman with whom the Celtics coach had an extramarital relationship recently accused him of having made “undesirable remarks” towards her. Even if we do not know the exact nature of these remarks (or if they were made in public or not), which can range from bad jokes to insults or even harassment, this necessarily reshuffles the cards in this case. . Because it has prompted the Celtics to question several members of the franchise in recent days / weeks, while the first rumors within the franchise concerning this “consensual” relationship dated from last July. Interviews which then led – once more according to Shams – to a team meeting lasting several hours made up of the president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and the owners of the team, as well as an exchange between Stevens, the front office and the players. Verdict: one season suspension therefore for the coach of Ime Udoka, but something tells us that we may have already seen the last game of the coach on the bench of the Celtics.
It’s over for Ime Udoka as a coach in Boston.
I know most will focus on the suspension, but the latest report from @ShamsCharania is clear: we are closer to a trial for harassment than a slap on the wrist.
It’s just unacceptable.
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) September 23, 2022
Pending potentially more details on the content of these “undesirable remarks”, The Athletic also tells us “that a decision will be made at a later date regarding Udoka’s future at the Celtics following this season”. Translation, his return to the bench is far from assured even when his one-year suspension is served. The decision of the Boston franchise will likely depend on future revelations regarding this case, case that really shakes the Celtics days away from training camp and less than a month away from the first regular season game. Today, fresh off an NBA Finals berth, the C’s will have to move forward with former Udoka assistant Joe Mazzula, who will have the daunting task of keeping the Greens in the top flight. the Eastern Conference despite this obviously complicated context.
We should gradually learn more regarding the real nature of this relationship between Ime Udoka and the Celtics staff member, and especially regarding what is behind the terms “undesirable remarks”. Because if it goes to the stage of moral harassment, there is a good chance that the suspension of the Celtics coach will turn outright into a dismissal…
Source texte : The Athletic
