“There’s no way in hell that everyone in this organization didn’t know about this situation” – NBA analyst slams the Celtics for failing to protect their franchise, says players will face unnecessary hardships
The Ime Udoka scandal is reverberating around the NBA after the Boston Celtics handed out a one-year suspension to their coach. He has since issued an apology to the fans, the organization, his family and everyone involved.
Former NBA player Kendrick Perkins called out the way Boston handled the issue. The ESPN analyst discussed the circus surrounding Boston’s investigation and the leaks that complicated the issue:
“There’s no way in hell that everyone in this organization didn’t know about this situation over how many months, probably, the last year. Everybody knew about it.
"Nobody seems to talk about how the players are gonna be affected. Nobody is gonna be talking about how the players are gonna get called into office and have to deal with the situation or talk about the situation when they really shouldn’t have to be doing that anyway, because everybody knew about it."
Real Talk. https://t.co/3pRwN1mXZy
When news broke that Ime Udoka had a consensual but improper relationship with a woman who was part of the team staff, speculations ran rampant. Social media and various news sites desperately tried to identify the woman involved.
By the time Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens addressed the issue, the damage had already been done.
“I didn’t like Brad’s calmness on this," Perkins said. "He said about the speculations and the Twitter b.s. and how unfair it was to the women in the organization. … There are speculations because of the reports that were put out by the actual Boston Celtics. They didn’t do a great job from the jump of actually protecting the women of their organization."
Wyc Grousbeck and Brad Stevens addressed the Ime Udoka scandal
After all the duress and speculation, the Boston Celtics brass gave some sort of clarity on the Ime Udoka issue on Friday.
The Celtics’ team governor, Wyc Grousbeck, was adamant the franchise did not “leak” anything to the NBA media and offered details on what had happened:
“As soon as we learned there was a potential situation, we immediately brought in a respected law firm to conduct a thorough investigation and impartial investigation. They took some time. We actually completed that investigation with a report two days ago, so that’s the reason for the timing here.”
Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck and president of basketball operations Brad Stevens address the decision to suspend Ime Udoka for the upcoming NBA season. https://t.co/3rH3koSvib
Grousbeck then explained the reason for Udoka's suspension:
“I personally feel this is well warranted and appropriate, backed by substantial research and evidence and facts. I’m standing by the decision, and Ime has accepted it. He expressed an appreciation, and I don’t want to belabor that, but he’s been accepting of it and he’s planning to move forward on this basis.”
Brad Stevens had to control his voice as he defended the women in the Boston Celtics organization:
“We have a lot of talented women in our organization, and I thought yesterday was really hard on them,” Stevens said, welling up a bit. “I think that nobody can control Twitter speculation, rampant (expletive), but I do think that we as an organization have a responsibility to be there and support them now because a lot of people were dragged unfairly into that.”
"I thought yesterday was really hard on them. ... We have a responsibility to make sure we're there to support them now."
Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens on speculation around female staffers on social media
(via @NBCSCeltics)
https://t.co/psACoeCN9u
Ime Udoka hasn’t been fired as Grousbeck said his decision to do so was “gut feel” as there are no NBA “guidelines” to follow. Udoka has accepted the punishment and hasn’t spoken since making a public apology.