Around the NBA: 2021-22 Season Thread

[MrDollarBills]

I went on Boston's board to ask opinions on why this wasn't kept in house. I agree with Stephen A....why was this made public? This isn't criminal matter

[gigantes]

Far as I can tell, Ime did nothing wrong, and I'm not a fan of humiliating people because of antiquated 'organisational guidelines.'

Imagine having a relationship with a coworker, then the world going all NewsRadio. (Dave & Lisa alert)

EDIT: Oh. I guess he cheated on his wife. Oh.
Ime, you're on your own here, mate.

The cheating aside, as a person in a position of authority as a head coach, f*cking a staff member working under you is really bad. This isn't a case of two 20 somethings working together in the ticket office hooking up.

I'm in a managerial position at my job, corporate. If I were to begin screwing around with one of the women on my team that report to me, and I got caught I would get a boot up under my ass from HR.

In simpler terms what if this scenario played out:

-Ime and female staff member start having an affair.

-things go sour. Eventually the situation becomes toxic, said staff member gets dismissed for whatever reason

-staff member lawyers up and sues the team, owning company, and Udoka for any number of reasons pertaining to her firing being due to the fallout from said sexual relationship between Udoka and the staff member.

Power dynamics within corporate structures aren't something to mess around with. She could easily say in a lawsuit that she felt coerced into engaging in a relationship with her boss because otherwise she could lose her livelihood. That's why they put this stuff in employee handbooks and make you sign off on saying that you've read everything.

Udoka is lucky he's a head coach that took his team to the finals and not some office exec because he'd probably be fired for this.

You're right, and I'm certainly very naive about this stuff.

I was thinking about it in terms of a morality issue, when it's a lot more complex than that. As I've come to understand, the Celtics had little choice, here.

Or... did they? Because I have to think this kind of thing isn't uncommon, even in the NBA. Yet I can't remember something like this happening before. So what happens in all those other cases? Does the head of the org tell the exec / coach 'either drop it right now or resign' or 'just keep it discrete from now on,' or how does that work? Something's evidently different in this case, yeah?

I feel bad for the Celts, tho. They've been building this team for years, are finally knocking on the door, and now this happens. Sometimes you need everything to go right to win a title, and this could be the monkey wrench they didn't need.

[ecuhus1981]

I went on Boston's board to ask opinions on why this wasn't kept in house. I agree with Stephen A....why was this made public? This isn't criminal matter

Fair question, all we can do is speculate.

My best guess is that it's a combination of how close we are to training camp / media day, and the fact that one of Ime's indiscretions was with the wife of a VP within the Celtics organization. That 1-2 punch means that someone that high up the food chain was never going to be satisfied with punishment occurring behind closed doors. And if Ime is not at media day, and they don't disclose why, it would have been an even worse firestorm.

Also, with the city of Boston, never rule out good ole fashioned... you know what, nah, I'm not even gonna open that can of worms.

[MrDollarBills]

I went on Boston's board to ask opinions on why this wasn't kept in house. I agree with Stephen A....why was this made public? This isn't criminal matter

Fair question, all we can do is speculate.

My best guess is that it's a combination of how close we are to training camp / media day, and the fact that one of Ime's indiscretions was with the wife of a VP within the Celtics organization. That 1-2 punch means that someone that high up the food chain was never going to be satisfied with punishment occurring behind closed doors. And if Ime is not at media day, and they don't disclose why, it would have been an even worse firestorm.

Also, with the city of Boston, never rule out good ole fashioned... you know what, nah, I'm not even gonna open that can of worms.

Whoever made this public did so without regard for who gets caught up in it. Multiple women who are employed by the Celtics are now facing online harassment because of this.

Not a good look for the Celtics imo.

[TheNetsFan]

I went on Boston's board to ask opinions on why this wasn't kept in house. I agree with Stephen A....why was this made public? This isn't criminal matter

Fair question, all we can do is speculate.

My best guess is that it's a combination of how close we are to training camp / media day, and the fact that one of Ime's indiscretions was with the wife of a VP within the Celtics organization. That 1-2 punch means that someone that high up the food chain was never going to be satisfied with punishment occurring behind closed doors. And if Ime is not at media day, and they don't disclose why, it would have been an even worse firestorm.

Also, with the city of Boston, never rule out good ole fashioned... you know what, nah, I'm not even gonna open that can of worms.

Whoever made this public did so without regard for who gets caught up in it. Multiple women who are employed by the Celtics are now facing online harassment because of this.

Not a good look for the Celtics imo.

The problem is that the leak can be anybody. A ball boy, trainer, player, agent, assistant coach, etc. The organization may not have wanted it leaked, but in today's Era of over the top media scrutiny, everything gets out.

That being said, if he was going to inevitably get suspended, the question of why would eventually get answered.

[MGrand15]

I don't think it's realistic at all that a wild story leading to a 1 year suspension would really be kept in house. It absolutely sucks that the women in the Celtic organization and Nia Long are catching heat for this but that's the nature of social media nowadays. There's no stopping that storm. This nonsense says more about society than it does the Celtics. Only way to stop that would be to not punish Udoka or to just fire him without reason. The second option would lead to wild speculation since Udoka was an elite coach last year.

I saw some people suggesting that Udoka should've secretly taken a year off and blamed stress. That's just insane. I'm just imagining a scenario where everyone is giving Udoka sympathy and wishing him well and begging for him to come back - only for this story to leak. That would be crazy.

[gigantes]

Okay... this seems to answer my own Q about why this case was made public whereas more often it seemingly isn't:


[Zach Lowe with Ramona Shelburne] "Based on what we have found out [about the Udoka situation]...its messy, and its ugly and its going to be really sad. Whatever happens...there's going to be damage here."

Zach Lowe and Ramona Shelburne discussed on the Lowe Post that the Udoka situation is quite tangled and Udoka sounds like he may be involved in a consensual affair that developed into something else (reading a bit between the lines). Shelburne suggested thinking about what happens in a relationship where a subordinate wants to terminate the connection but feels like they cannot or it is difficult due to the power dynamic. They also suggest that the core details may never be known.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/xlxg2x/zach_lowe_with_ramona_shelburne_based_on_what_we/

[MrDollarBills]

Read on Twitter

?t=ANDAfMkfnEGqLwlVbUWjyw&s=19

You know this is going to get ugly when Malika and Stephen A are having it out on live television (you need to see the whole clip).

I'm reading that the woman in question has obtained legal counsel. Not good.

Lesson to all young brothers out there: don't sh*t where you eat, especially if you are in a position of authority over someone. It's not worth it. I have multiple women on my team and I check all that mess at the door because professionalism and a standard of class comes 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. We're here to work, make money and advance careers.

Especially when you are a Black man in a corporate environment.

[MrDollarBills]

Okay... this seems to answer my own Q about why this case was made public whereas more often it seemingly isn't:


[Zach Lowe with Ramona Shelburne] "Based on what we have found out [about the Udoka situation]...its messy, and its ugly and its going to be really sad. Whatever happens...there's going to be damage here."

Zach Lowe and Ramona Shelburne discussed on the Lowe Post that the Udoka situation is quite tangled and Udoka sounds like he may be involved in a consensual affair that developed into something else (reading a bit between the lines). Shelburne suggested thinking about what happens in a relationship where a subordinate wants to terminate the connection but feels like they cannot or it is difficult due to the power dynamic. They also suggest that the core details may never be known.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/xlxg2x/zach_lowe_with_ramona_shelburne_based_on_what_we/

This is what I was saying. You absolutely cannot engage in this stuff if you are in a position of authority over someone. Male, female, it does not matter. You've got to repect the situation.

[MrDollarBills]

Read on Twitter

bag fumbling over some ass. man....

[StojkoVrankovic]

I went on Boston's board to ask opinions on why this wasn't kept in house. I agree with Stephen A....why was this made public? This isn't criminal matter

Fair question, all we can do is speculate.

My best guess is that it's a combination of how close we are to training camp / media day, and the fact that one of Ime's indiscretions was with the wife of a VP within the Celtics organization. That 1-2 punch means that someone that high up the food chain was never going to be satisfied with punishment occurring behind closed doors. And if Ime is not at media day, and they don't disclose why, it would have been an even worse firestorm.

Also, with the city of Boston, never rule out good ole fashioned... you know what, nah, I'm not even gonna open that can of worms.

soft as **** for this post

[MrDollarBills]

https://www.tmz.com/2022/09/23/celtics-coach-ime-udoka-nia-long-blindside-affair-moved-family-boston/

Sources connected to the team and the couple tell TMZ ... Nia had moved to Boston with Kez, her 10-year-old son with Ime, just 2 weeks ago, and the couple was house hunting. !!!

The sad twist for Nia is that when she moved, Ime was already fully aware his affair with a married front office staffer was about to blow up. We're told Ime knew way back in July the team was aware of the affair, and was launching an investigation.

Meanwhile, we're told Nia only found out about it in the last few days ... and only because Ime knew it was about to go public.

BRUH Ime is a piece of sh*t. We're done here.

[Paradise]

https://www.tmz.com/2022/09/23/celtics-coach-ime-udoka-nia-long-blindside-affair-moved-family-boston/

Sources connected to the team and the couple tell TMZ ... Nia had moved to Boston with Kez, her 10-year-old son with Ime, just 2 weeks ago, and the couple was house hunting. !!!

The sad twist for Nia is that when she moved, Ime was already fully aware his affair with a married front office staffer was about to blow up. We're told Ime knew way back in July the team was aware of the affair, and was launching an investigation.

Meanwhile, we're told Nia only found out about it in the last few days ... and only because Ime knew it was about to go public.

BRUH Ime is a piece of sh*t. We're done here.

Bruh, this is the guy who’s the interim coach. This is a common theme in that franchise.

“West Virginia point guard Joe Mazzulla has developed a rather unfortunate habit of finding his way into the police blotter. The first incident came in 2008, when Mazzulla was charged with underage drinking and aggravated assault at a Pittsburgh Pirates game. Last year, Mazzulla was suspended by West Virginia coach Bob Huggins for his arrest on charges of domestic battery. Mazzulla allegedly grabbed a woman by the neck at The Lady Lizard bar in Morgantown, W.Va. Both incidents involved alcohol.” –

[MrDollarBills]

https://www.tmz.com/2022/09/23/celtics-coach-ime-udoka-nia-long-blindside-affair-moved-family-boston/

Sources connected to the team and the couple tell TMZ ... Nia had moved to Boston with Kez, her 10-year-old son with Ime, just 2 weeks ago, and the couple was house hunting. !!!

The sad twist for Nia is that when she moved, Ime was already fully aware his affair with a married front office staffer was about to blow up. We're told Ime knew way back in July the team was aware of the affair, and was launching an investigation.

Meanwhile, we're told Nia only found out about it in the last few days ... and only because Ime knew it was about to go public.

BRUH Ime is a piece of sh*t. We're done here.

Bruh, this is the guy who’s the interim coach. This is a common theme in that franchise.

“West Virginia point guard Joe Mazzulla has developed a rather unfortunate habit of finding his way into the police blotter. The first incident came in 2008, when Mazzulla was charged with underage drinking and aggravated assault at a Pittsburgh Pirates game. Last year, Mazzulla was suspended by West Virginia coach Bob Huggins for his arrest on charges of domestic battery. Mazzulla allegedly grabbed a woman by the neck at The Lady Lizard bar in Morgantown, W.Va. Both incidents involved alcohol.” –

WOW.

And they're going to march this guy out there as the head coach? Brad better get his ass out of the front office and onto the sidelines.

Not a good look in either case imo.

[GTR11]

Read on Twitter

?s=20

Read on Twitter

?s=20

Let's see I guess...

[Paradise]

Udoka was totally wrong and deserves to get his ass kicked for it but not punishing the women involved whatsoever is really ridiculous.

The only excuse not to punish any women involved is if they DID not work for the franchise whatsoever. Leaking it was a staff member was on the Celtics. It clearly wasn’t a staff remember and someone we ALL know’s wife.

[Shark]

Sad that Ime threw away his reputation after years of patiently waiting to become a head coach. And it sounds worse and worse with each subsequent headline that comes out. If we're into sexual abuse territory, which it seems likely, I don't see how any franchise would seriously consider hiring him over the next couple seasons, if at all.

[Shark]

Udoka was totally wrong and deserves to get his ass kicked for it but not punishing the women involved whatsoever is really ridiculous.

The only excuse not to punish any women involved is if they DID not work for the franchise whatsoever. Leaking it was a staff member was on the Celtics. It clearly wasn’t a staff remember and someone we ALL know’s wife.

It depends honestly. When you are in a position of power and use it to get sexual favors from those who are under you there really is no grounds for punishing the victim.

Now if somehow it's found that the victim[s] had colluded to entrap the abuser to then extort them then things would totally change and punishment would be justified. But so far there's nothing that would indicate that this is what happened.

[therealbig3]

Eh I’m not about victim shaming, especially women. Yeah there are gold diggers/power diggers out there, but let’s honestly compare how many douchbag men there are that abuse their power and enter into relationships with women as a result vs how many women there are that secretly conspire to take down men. There’s no comparison.

The most likely situation here is that Udoka leveraged his position to enter into a relationship with a female staffer. Probably consensual, but it’s like how if a boss is found screwing his secretary “consensually”…there’s a clear power dynamic there that muddies the waters.

Work place relationships are tough, there’s a reason there are so many policies and rules in place to discourage them.

[Paradise]

Udoka was totally wrong and deserves to get his ass kicked for it but not punishing the women involved whatsoever is really ridiculous.

The only excuse not to punish any women involved is if they DID not work for the franchise whatsoever. Leaking it was a staff member was on the Celtics. It clearly wasn’t a staff remember and someone we ALL know’s wife.

It depends honestly. When you are in a position of power and use it to get sexual favors from those who are under you there really is no grounds for punishing the victim.

Now if somehow it's found that the victim[s] had colluded to entrap the abuser to then extort them then things would totally change and punishment would be justified. But so far there's nothing that would indicate that this is what happened.

Victim? She’s as guilty as he is. Again, you are running away from accountability on her and her role by cheating on her husband as equally as he cheated and abused his role.