New Details Emerge Regarding Ime Udoka's Suspension From Boston Celtics
With reports surfacing Wednesday night that head coach Ime Udoka was facing a prolonged and significant suspension for a violation of team policies, the Boston Celtics announced Thursday that they have suspended Udoka for the entirety of the 2022-23 season.
At first, there was not much clarity given on this situation when the original reports surfaced, but The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that the Celtics head coach had an “improper intimate relationship with a female member of the team staff,” which has resulted in a serious violation of the organization’s code of conduct.
The Celtics released a statement on Thursday night not only saying that Ime Udoka would not coach the team during the 2022-23 season, but that no decision has been made on his future with the franchise.
Boston Celtics: “The Boston Celtics announced today that the team has suspended Head Coach Ime Udoka for the 2022-23 season for violations of team policies. A decision about his future with the Celtics beyond this season will be made at a later date. The suspension takes effect immediately.”
New details on what had occurred that resulted in this suspension were brought to light by Shams Charania on Thursday night.
According to Charania, some members of the Boston Celtics organization became aware of the relationship between Udoka and a female staff member in July, but at the time, they were led to believe by both parties that the relationship was consensual.
Recently though, the women accused Udoka of making “unwanted comments toward her,” which has led to this internal investigation by the Celtics.
Team owners and president Brad Stevens met for several hours on Thursday and they also met with players at the team facility before publicly announcing that Ime Udoka would be suspended indefinitely.
“I want to apologize to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for letting them down,” Udoka said in a statement. “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.”
Preparing for his second season with the Boston Celtics, Udoka took the franchise to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games. He joined the Celtics last summer after previously serving as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets following his professional playing career.
With Udoka now suspended, Celtics assistant coach Joe Mazzulla has been named the team’s interim head coach for the 2022-23 season.
Questions about Udoka’s status with the franchise will arise all throughout the upcoming NBA season and the Celtics, a team that many believed could possibly make another run at the title, now have a dark cloud that hangs over their heads entering training camp, which is set to begin on September 27.
