sport news Stephen A. Smith RIPS Celtics for 'leaking news of Ime Udoka's looming ... trends now
Ime Udoka's alleged affair with a Boston Celtics staff member is not any of the public's business, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said Thursday, adding that the team's handling of his reported looming suspension reveals a racial double standard.
Udoka, who led Boston to the NBA Finals in his first year with the club last season, is facing a likely year-long suspension for a consensual, yet improper affair with a yet-to-be identified female member of the team's staff, according to ESPN and The Athletic.
'I got news for you America: There are plenty of white folks in professional sports that's doing their thing,' Smith said in response to the news about Udoka, who is African American. 'And I say that not complimentary. I don't see the information out about them.
'[I] can't count the amounts of fraternization, or dare I say more, that goes on in practically every organization in NBA, NFL and MLB — people get together, they working together, that stuff happens all the time.'
Smith also questioned the choice to leak information about a private affair between two consenting adults.
'Why are we talking about this now?' Smith asked rhetorically. 'We gotta talk about it because it's the news. Ain't none of our damn business, unless you fire him.'
Ime Udoka's alleged affair with a Boston Celtics staff member is not any of the public's business, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said Thursday, adding that the team's handling of his reported looming suspension reveals a racial double standard
Udoka has been engaged to actress Nia Long, who gave birth to the couple's son in 2015
And if the Celtics don't fire him?
'But if you keep him, it's none of our business,' Smith continued, blaming the Celtics for the leaked news about Udoka. 'It should've never been put out there by the Celtics organization — and don't tell me you didn't do it. Because you absolutely did it — because news reporters did it. So, it emanated out of Boston. Somebody ain't in LA or Utah or something leaking this stuff about the Boston Celtics. This is on y'all. It shouldn't have been out here. That's what I have to say.'
Smith isn't the only media personality taking aim at Boston for reportedly preparing a year-long suspension for Udoka. Veteran sportswriter Howard Bryant referenced former Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson's years-long romantic relationship with team co-owner Jeanie Buss, both of whom are white.
'Don't know what's coming down from the Celtics, or the degree of impropriety (if any),' Bryant tweeted. 'Maybe it's something. Maybe it's nothing. I'm just happy Phil Jackson and Jeanie Buss kept it professional.'
Buss and Jackson split in 2016, while he was working for the New York Knicks.
