John Salley on Nia Long & Ime Udoka relationship after Boston Celtics scandal: “Nia & daughter are caught in collateral damage”
Nia Long was caught up in a relationship issue that was caused by Boston Celtics suspended head coach Ime Udoka. One of her friends in the league, John Salley, is relieved that Long has finally ended her relationship after it was discovered that Udoka was cheating on her.
Nia Long and Ime Udoka break up after 13 years together following NBA coach’s alleged affair people.com/tv/nia-long-im…
Long and Udoka have been a part of the NBA news stories, and since then, things have changed. After a few months of being out of the spotlight, they are once again in the headlines, but for a slightly different reason. Salley, who's a former NBA player, detailed the aftereffects of the issues caused by Udoka.
"I'm a friend of Nia Long, and if Nia Long was so good about being quiet about it and not talking about it, I take my hat off to her. She usually, she knows things like this do pass," Salley said.
"He is a man that made a really, really poor decision and didn't work in his favor, was a poor decision. I'm happy my friend got out of that situation. ... And Nia happened to be, and her son and daughter are caught in the collateral damage of bad decision-making."
Despite the issues caused by Udoka's bad decisions, he almost became the replacement for the coaching job for the Brooklyn Nets. After Sean Marks fired Steve Nash on Nov. 1, the former Nets assistant coach became the frontrunner for the job. Later on, he would lose it to Jacque Vaughn, who's now the head coach.
Also read: Who is Nia Long? Taking a closer look at her relationship with Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka
Nia Long broke her silence about Ime Udoka's affair earlier this month
After months of waiting for a response from Nia Long, the media finally had a chance to hear from the actress. She expressed how devastated she was when the news broke, and The Hollywood Reporter got a chance for a scoop. Long detailed how deeply concerned she was for her kids.
"I went home to be with my son, and that was what was most important to me, because he was not having an easy time," she said. "I think the most heartbreaking thing about all of this was seeing my son’s face when the Boston Celtics organization decided to make a very private situation public.
"It was devastating, and it still is. He still has moments where it’s not easy for him. If you’re in the business of protecting women — I’m sorry, no one from the Celtics organization has even called to see if I’m OK, to see if my children are OK. It’s very disappointing.
Nia Long recently walked off a set for the first time in her 36-year career and says she knew it needed to be done “because it didn’t feel good in my belly” thr.cm/hLDej6O
"'And then what I found was this tribe of women and men who were standing up for me in a way that felt like I was in this bubble of protection, and that was very comforting."
Also read: Reports: Hollywood insider claims Boston Celtics female staffer's affair with Ime Udoka was uncovered by her husband