Ime Udoka became somewhat of a household name when he masterfully led the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals this past season, but he is now making the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Udoka was suspended by the Celtics for the entire 2022-23 season last week, for entering into a relationship with a female staffer, which was prohibited as per team rules.
The worrying part is that what we know right now is just a small portion of the entire situation, as it would appear that it is very ugly. NBA insiders Zach Lowe and Ramona Shelburne said the situation is a lot worse than what has been reported so far while Matt Barnes went as far as to withdraw his support for Udoka after hearing all the details. It just seems incredibly messy and we might get more details as time goes by.
The Celtics Organization Knew About The Relationship And Took Action After The Woman Accused Udoka Of Making Unwanted Comments
The situation has brought the spotlight firmly on the Celtics organization and unfortunately, all of their female staffers have been dragged into the scandal. A Celtics reporter spoke about how the situation is affecting her and other staffers on the team and it is really unfortunate how they have been caught up in this. President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens showed his support to the women who work within the organization as he spoke about how difficult it had been for them to go through that. NBA insider Shams Charania recently gave some more details regarding the situation and what led to the suspension.
Some members of the Celtics organization first became aware in July of the intimate relationship between Ime Udoka and a female employee, per sources.
Why, two months later, the Celtics levied Udoka with a one-season suspension — at @TheAthletic: https://t.co/MIoUU1TNK4
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 23, 2022
“Some members of the Celtics organization first became aware of the relationship in July, sources said. At that time, team leadership was led to believe by both parties that the relationship was consensual. But sources said that the woman recently accused Udoka of making unwanted comments toward her — leading the team to launch a set of internal interviews.”
Once it came out that she had accused Udoka of making unwanted comments, his fate was sealed, as some sort of punishment was going to be dished out. He is perhaps a bit fortunate to not lose his job already and Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Udoka’s career isn’t over despite this scandal.
More reports have come out regarding the situation, with TMZ reporting that the female staffer handled travel arrangements for Udoka as well as his fiancee Nia Long. The affair came to light when the staffer’s husband overheard their private conversation on a home doorbell camera, and it would have been a devastating blow to him. It has been a scandal-ridden couple of weeks for the NBA and you wonder what happens next in this situation.
