In these two very intense days on the Boston Celtics, so many false or unconfirmed reports have been spread about what happened between Ime Udoka and an unspecified employee of the franchise, initially listed as a staff member. Let’s try to get some order.
It is the Italian night between Wednesday and Thursday when we learn via Twitter of Udoka’s violation of a rule in the Celtics’ code of conduct. Shortly thereafter we also find out about the coach’s affair with a female staff member, initially described as consensual but against the rules. Talk begins about punishment, which then comes: one year away from the bench, no firing. Everyone questions whether a clandestine affair is enough to sideline one of last season’s best coaches, accusing the Celtics of bigotry. The franchise also announces that only the coach will suffer punishment.
About 24 hours later, however, Shams Charania, the first person to speak about the affair, corrected his course. Perhaps that relationship, which some members of the Celtics had known about since July, was not entirely consensual. There is talk of “inappropriate comments”, but there could be more. Things are beginning to take shape: if it were something more serious, the heavy suspension decided by Boston would make sense. It cannot, moreover, be a decision based almost exclusively on morality.
Further giving rise to this speculation are the words of Brad Stevens in press conference. The Celtics president, who until a year ago played precisely the role of Udoka, shows support for all the women in the franchise, for whom news of the scandal would be a blow. If it was a simple relationship between two adults, why should other employees feel touched, or worse hurt by the issue? Plus come the sibylline statements from former players, still in the NBA business, such as Matt Barnes or Richard Jefferson, who on social media allude to serious behavior on Udoka’s part.
Here the facts end, and the rumors begin, often campy on Twitter.
For example, an account that talks about betting in the hours after Pandora’s box was uncovered issues this tweet that goes viral. It claims that Ime Udoka did not have an affair with just one woman, but even two: one would be the wife of the vice-president of the Celtics. Version to which many believe but which, we emphasize, is not confirmed by anyone and comes from an unreliable source.
**UPDATED NBA NEWS**
Ime Udoka had relationships with not 1 but 2 staff members, one deleted all social media accounts, the other has turned off comments on IG (both married) one was actually married to a senior vice president in Celtics organization who wanted 1 year suspension. pic.twitter.com/0vJWvnTm4C– IB THE GAMBLER 🔌 (@incarceratedbob) September 22, 2022
Others have claimed that the woman in question was the vice president in charge of player development, a member of Udoka’s staff: Allison Feaster. For no real reason, probably only because she is one of the few female staff members. Version promptly denied by journalist Marc J. Spears, who wrote that Feaster is in no way involved in the matter.
For those speculating and curious about the Celtics’ situation, Vice-President of Player Development and Organizational Growth Allison Feaster is not involved in this.
– Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) September 22, 2022
The name of the woman involved, for obvious reasons, has not been disclosed and it is probably best, for privacy reasons, to remain secret in the future.
There may be several hypotheses about this scandal, and we do not yet know if any of them are true. Did Ime Udoka and the woman have a consensual relationship? A non-consensual one on her part? Did the coach blackmail her by exploiting his job position? Based only on what we know, and not on fleeting rumors on social media, it is impossible to make firm statements. Let us limit ourselves to talking about the facts.
