Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka is facing the possibility of a monster ban for having an improper intimate and consensual relationship with a female member of the team staff.
The suspension news was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski before The Athletic’s Shams Charania released details surrounding the potentially incoming ban for violating the Celtics’ code of conduct.
“Celtics coach Ime Udoka had an improper intimate and consensual relationship with a female member of the team staff. It’s been deemed a violation of the franchise’s code of conduct,” Charania reported.
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If Udoka is suspended for a significant amount of time, it would be a blow to the Celtics, who thought they had their coach of the present — and future. Udoka led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference championship and a berth in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors in his first season as head coach.
Wojnarowski reported internal discussions were ongoing however one scenario floated was a season-long ban for Udoka.
Udoka and his partner, actor Nia Long, are said to have been separated before this scandal played out.
Social media went into a spin when the news was announced with fans believing there was more to the story than had been reported.
The Udoka story was just the latest in a heavy news day around the NBA.
First, Sun owner Robert Sarver, who was under fire following an investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct against him and the organization, announced earlier Wednesday that he was selling the Suns and the Mercury of the WNBA.
Sarver was suspended for one season and issued a $10 million fine, amid growing pressure that the punishment was not severe enough, Sarver decided to step away. Suns vice chairman Jahm Najafi and PayPal CEO Dan Schulman said they didn’t want him to return, and LeBron James and Chris Paul also previously spoke out saying the punishment wasn’t harsh enough.
In other NBA news on Wednesday, a top NBA reporter Shams Charania, who competes with Wojnarowski for stories, signed new deals to remain at Stadium/Bally Sports — both owned by Sinclair — and The Athletic, The Post has confirmed.
– with Ted Holmlund, NY Post.
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