The start of the 2022-2023 NBA season is right around the corner, and Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka has been suspended for the entire season after it was revealed he had an “improper intimate and consensual relationship with a female member of the team staff.” Now Matt Barnes is sharing his thoughts on the whole matter.
Matt shared a video and said,
“I played in the league for a long time. Anyone in the league could tell you this is a very common situation. This is not new news for people who’ve been in the league or around organizations. I’ve seen it from owners to executives, to coaches, to players, to trainers, to therapists, to dancers, to PR ladies. This is not uncommon.”
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He continued to compare Ime’s one-year suspension to Pheonix Suns owner Robert Sarver, who also received a year suspension after an investigation determined he used racial slurs, as well as engaged in “inequitable conduct toward female employees.”
Matt asked, “So you’re tryna tell me what Robert Sarver did, and Udoka did are on the same level? Even in the same book? Yet they warranted the same time?” He continued to share that he thought the Celtics made a terrible decision by suspending Ime for the entire NBA season.
As previously reported, after the news of his suspension, Ime issued an apology and said,
“I want to apologize to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for letting them down,” Ime wrote, via ESPN’s Malika Andrews. “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.”
Robert Sarver also recently spoke out in the wake of the news of his one-year suspension as well. As mentioned before, he released a statement on Wednesday and shared that he has begun the process of trying to sell both the Pheonix Suns and Pheonix Mercury.
“I expected that the commissioner’s one-year suspension would provide the time for me to focus, make amends and remove my personal controversy from the teams that I and so many fans love,” he said. “But in our current unforgiving climate, it has become painfully clear that that is no longer possible — that whatever good I have done, or could still do, is outweighed by things I have said in the past.”
Ime Udoka led the Boston Celtics to the 2022 NBA Finals in his first year as head coach, but ultimately they lost to the Golden State Warriors.
Roommates, what are your thoughts?
TSR STAFF: Jade Ashley @Jade_Ashley94
