Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka. (David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports)
The Celtics suspended head coach Ime Udoka for a full year because of a workplace relationship. Now we know more about how he crossed the line.
When the Celtics revealed a year-long suspension for Ime Udoka, it was clear that more details would come out little by little until a more full picture of his misconduct became clear.
Adrian Wojnarowski has now painted a little more of the picture by reporting about “crude language” Udoka allegedly used with a female subordinate working for him and the Celtics.
Apparently, the independent law firm the Celtics used to look into the situation found that Udoka “used crude language in his dialogue with a female subordinate prior to the start of an improper workplace relationship with the woman.” That language was “deemed especially concerning coming from a workplace superior.”
According to ESPN’s sources, that finding “significantly factored into his one-year suspension.”
Ime Udoka’s “crude language” played into one-year Celtics suspension
We obviously don’t know the exact language Udoka used but it clearly crossed enough of a line that the team felt they needed to suspend the head coach for such a significant period.
A workplace relationship would have been inappropriate enough to warrant a suspension. The length of it and the inclusion of “crude language” as a factor is telling.
Udoka’s suspension stretches until June of next year and it’s not clear if he will be welcomed back as Boston’s head coach after that period. While he wasn’t fired straight away, his actions have harmed the organization greatly, from setting them back on the basketball court to exposing the female employees of the team to rampant speculation about their potential role in the scandal.
This is all a mess and it doesn’t sound like it’s going to get any better.