Ime Udoka has publicly apologized after he was suspended as coach of Boston Celtics on Thursday.
The Nigerian-American coach was suspended after it was revealed that he had an inappropriate relationship with a female staffer of the team.
“I want to apologize to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for letting them down,” he said in a statement.
“I am sorry for putting the team in this difficult situation, and I accept the team’s decision. Out of respect for everyone involved, I will have no further comment.”
NEW: Statement from Celtics coach Ime Udoka pic.twitter.com/MFutFx7c3l
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) September 23, 2022
Udoka led the Celtics to the NBA Finals last season.
Assistant coach Joe Mazzulla will take over as interim coach.
Revelation
A report in The Athletic early Friday revealed that female staff member recently accused him of “making unwanted comments toward her.”
The article said:
“Some members of the Celtics organization first became aware of the relationship in July, sources said. At that time, team leadership was led to believe by both parties that the relationship was consensual. But sources said that the woman recently accused Udoka of making unwanted comments toward her – leading the team to launch a set of internal interviews.
The team’s decision and announcement came after a closed-door meeting Thursday that involved team owners and president Brad Stevens and last several hours, sources said. Earlier Thursday, Stevens and members of the Celtics front office met with players at the team facility.”
The Athetic
The Celtics will hold the team’s media day Monday ahead of the start of training camp Tuesday.
