Nia Long's Fiancé Ime Udoka Used 'Crude Language' With Subordinate Female Staffer Prior To Affair
Oct. 1 2022, Published 1:09 p.m. ET
Celtics coach Ime Udoka was suspended for one year after breaking "multiple" rules by having an affair with a directly subordinate female staffer who worked for the team.
Details of the exact infractions have primarily been kept under wraps, however, according to ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, Udoka used "crude language" with the woman in question prior to sparking their relationship.
The basketball coach's suspension was announced on Thursday, September 22. The investigation into the inappropriate relationship was concluded early last week. Along with the suspension, Udoka's salary will also be cut. No one else working for the team received disciplinary action.
"This felt right, but [there are] no clear guidelines for any of this," team owner Wyc Grousbeck said, regarding the suspension. "It’s conscience and gut feel. We collectively came to this and got there but it was not clear what to do but it was clear something substantial needed to be done, and it was."
As Radar previously reported, both Udoka and the woman involved were cheating on their respective partners. The affair was discovered after the woman's husband overheard one of their conversations from their home doorbell camera.
The disgraced Celtics coach's fiancée, Nia Long, did not discover the news until recently, as she had moved to Boston to search for a home for their family. The couple shares 10-year-old son, Kez Sunday.
Retired basketball player Matt Barnes initially defended the embattled 45-year-old's behavior, explaining these types of situations were unfortunately commonplace in professional sports. He later deleted the social media post and walked back his controversial opinions after being told new information by someone closer to the incident. "Without knowing all the facts, I spoke on Ime Udoka's defense, and after finding out the facts after I spoke, I erased what I posted because this situation in Boston is deep, it's messy, it's 100 times uglier than any of us thought," the former athlete said in a video shared to Instagram.
"Some things happened that I can't condone, I can't back, and it's not my place to tell you what happened," he continued. "If it ends up coming out, it ends up coming out. But that was the reason why I erased my post last night, because after I posted it, I got a call from someone who had all the details, and s—t is deep."
ESPN was first to report on Udoka's crude comments.