It’s been a messy 48 hours for Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka. As previously reported by REVOLT, on Wednesday (Sept. 21), news broke that he cheated on actress Nia Long. The two share a child and have been together since 2010.
Udoka reportedly had a consensual affair with a female staff worker, however, as new details begin to come to light, it seems that may not have been the full story. According to an article by The Athletic, the Celtics had been aware of the alleged workplace romance since July. However, the team later learned Udoka made “unwanted comments” to the woman involved.
Today (Sept. 23), the New York Post added that the Celtics launched an internal investigation. Yesterday (Sept. 22), board members, including team owners and president Brad Stevens, held a private meeting before announcing their decision to suspend Udoka for the entire 2022-23 basketball season.
Following their ruling, Udoka released a short statement: “I want to apologize to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for letting them down. I am sorry for putting the team in this difficult situation, and I accept the team’s decision. Out of respect for everyone involved, I will have no further comment.”
While the majority of yesterday’s tweets on Black Twitter were messages like, “Ime Udoka cheated on Nia Long, get him out the league,” others questioned the severity of his punishment. “The way they hyping this Ime Udoka situation, you’d think he stole [$5 million] in welfare funds from Mississippi,” one tweet read. The message was referring to former NFL quarterback Brett Favre reportedly stealing federal funds to build a volleyball stadium.
Others, like ESPN sports personality Stephen A. Smith, argued that Udoka’s private life should have never made it to public news. “There’s plenty of white folks in professional sports that’s doing their thing. And I say that not complimentary,” he said on-air yesterday. Smith added, “I don’t see the information out about them. Why are we talking about this guy? It ain’t none of our d**n business. It should’ve never been put out there by the Celtics organization.”