Matt Barnes Says Boston Celtics Coach, Ime Udoka, Coaching Days May Be Over Following His Alleged Work Cheating Scandal

Matt Barnes Says Boston Celtics Coach, Ime Udoka, Coaching Days May Be Over Following His Alleged Work Cheating Scandal: It’s Just Some Stuff You Can’t Do

Matt Barnes suggested that Ime Udoka may never coach an NBA team again. 

Matt Barnes

During a recent interview with VladTV, retired NBA star Matt Barnes said Ime Udoka’s situation is different from the other affairs he’s become aware of during his time as an active player. Matt Barnes shared:

“Like I heard, it’s not about what he did, I guess it’s about who he did it with.” 

He continued:

“This is not something that’s, you know, only in the NBA. It happens in the workplace all around. It’s not so much the act.”

The 42-year-old added, reflecting on his actions while being an NBA player:

“Some teams have rules, some teams don’t. If I talked to a cheerleader here or there it wasn’t really that big of a deal, but just as far as kind of moving up further than that? That was never my cup of tea. There was too many women that weren’t even in this workspace that, you know, we can hang out with.”

As previously reported, on Friday (Sept. 23), actress Nia Long’s fiancee, Ime Udoka has been suspended for having an alleged consensual intimate relationship with a woman who works for the Boston Celtics’ franchise. Reflecting on the coach’s suspension Barnes admitted that he’s “praying for everyone involved because it’s heavy.” He said:

“Oh he’s a great coach.”

Barnes continued:

“Boston will figure out a way, but you know if everything comes out he’ll be lucky if he coaches in the NBA again to be honest with you. … I think it’s pretty heavy, man. It’s just some stuff you can’t do… Not judging, to each his own I’ve made plenty of mistakes, but if everything comes out it could get extra hot in the kitchen for him, yeah.”

The current basketball analyst previously took to social media to share his opinion on Udoka’s cheating scandal. Initially, Barnes compared Udoka’s suspension to Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver’s one-year suspension following his use of the ‘N-word’ in the work environment. He said:

“Normally I’d be choppin’ it up on ESPN with you guys about this but I’m off until next week but I definitely wanna touch on this Ime Udoka situation.”

Barnes continued:

“A year suspension was just handed down by the team for an inappropriate consensual sexual situation with a female that worked in the organization. I played in the league for a long time, anyone who played in the league could tell you, this is a very common situation. This is not new news for people who been in the league or even around organizations. I’ve seen it from owners, to executives, to coaches, to players, to trainers, to therapists, to dancers, to PR ladies like, this is not uncommon.”

He  added:

“And it just brings some context to it. The NBA just suspended Sarver for all the sh*t he did and he got a year too. So you’re trying to tell me what Robert Sarver did and Udoka did are even on the same level? Even in the same book? Yet they warranted the same amount of time? It’s a bad look man. The Celtics, whoever made this decision, was a terrible decision. You wanna suspend the man 15, 20, 25 games – but a whole season for a consensual situation? That not only happens in the NBA but happens in every single work place. This was a terrible call man.”

Eventually, the day Udoka was officially suspended, Barnes took back his comments on Udoka’s consequence after a source informed him of specific details that lead up to the suspension. He took it to Instagram and said:

“So last night I spoke on this Ime Udoka situation without having all the facts and I think as apart of the media, often media speaks to something, and when they’re wrong they won’t come out and say it. And since I’m apart of the media now and I try not to be like everyone else. I try to, you know, report, and talk with facts, and honesty and I clearly have to say, last night, without knowing all the facts, I spoke on Ime Udoka’s defense and after finding out the facts after I spoke, I erased what I posted because this situation in Boston is deep, it’s messy, it’s 100 times uglier than any of us thought and that’s why I erased what I said.”

He added:

“Some things happened that I can’t condone, I can’t back, and it’s not my place to tell you what happened. If it ends up coming out, it ends up coming out. But that was the reason why I erased my post last night because after I posted it I got a call from someone who had all the details and this sh*t is deep. So praying for everybody involved. Hope everyone gets through this and I saw a lot of blogs picked up what I said even though it was only on my page for two minutes, so hopefully they pick this up too for me being wrong and jumping out there without the facts. So thats where ima leave it. God bless.”

What are your thoughts on Matt Barnes calling it quits for Ime Udoka’s coaching career? Share it with us in the comments below.

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Authored by: Tsai-Ann Hill