Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens spoke about speculation regarding those involved in the situation including head coach Ime Udoka, but the reality is, regardless of how emotional Stevens’ plea was, the story is not going away.
Another layer of the story was reported early Sunday morning by Entertainment Tonight’s Kevin Frazier, likely more involved given Udoka’s longtime fiancée is well-known actress Nia Long. Frazier reported Udoka’s relationship with a female Celtics staffer was discovered by the staffer’s husband, who overheard a private conversation on a home doorbell camera, citing multiple sources. Frazier called the relationship an “affair.”
Udoka was suspended by the Celtics for the 2022-23 season for violations of team policies.
Frazier’s reveal comes after Wednesday night’s report from The Athletic’s Sham Charania that Udoka was engaging in a relationship with a Celtics staffer. Charania initially reported it was an “improper” yet “consensual” relationship, though a follow-up report from Charania noted Udoka had made unwanted comments to the staffer.
During a press conference Friday, Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck confirmed nobody else in the organization was going to be punished for the incident. Grousbeck, unsurprisingly, did not reveal any details regarding those involved due to “privacy” issues.
TMZ on Saturday reported on the relationship between the two parties. The outlet reported the Celtics staffer helped Udoka with his travel arrangements and also helped Long with her travel plans and relocation to Boston. Long shared a statement Friday indicating she did not know about Udoka’s relationship.
Frazier followed up that TMZ report, and his own, while sharing the Celtics staffer continued to work with Long despite the organization already having learned about the “affair.”
One former NBA player on Friday shared how he was under the impression the fallout of the Udoka situation would get “100 times uglier” than it first appeared, and it’s possible these developments are what he was referring to.
