Brad Stevens and Wyc Grousbeck couldn’t say too much regarding Ime Udoka’s violations of team policy due to “privacy reasons,” but there was one part of this ugly situation that Stevens wanted to make sure he addressed on Friday.
Since news of Udoka’s pending suspension broke late Wednesday night -- a suspension that is now confirmed as being for the entire 2022-23 season -- some on social media have tried to figure out who on the Celtics staff Udoka reportedly had an “improper” relationship with.
The ill-advised efforts resulted in a number of female Celtics employees being tagged on social media and, in some cases, having their photos spread around, all while there was no actual evidence or reporting implicating any of them by name.
Stevens made a point to criticize the speculation in his opening remarks during Friday’s press conference and got emotional while doing so.
“We have a lot of talented women in our organization, and I thought yesterday was really hard on them,” Stevens said. “Nobody can control Twitter speculation and rampant bulls***, but I do think that we as an organization have a responsibility to make sure we’re there to support them now, because a lot of people were dragged unfairly into that.”
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Friday that Udoka was accused of making “unwanted comments” toward the woman with whom he was having an affair.
Grousbeck said on Friday that no other Celtics employees besides Udoka would be facing any discipline.
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