Ime Udoka Suspended, Did Boston Make the Right Move?

Julian Martinez: [00:00:12] Well, this is certainly not the news I was expecting. What about a month removed from the NBA season, head coach Ime Udoka of my Boston Celtics likely suspended for the year. This comes after a report that was put out that he had a consensual relationship with a staff member that broke Boston celtics code of conduct for their employees. Kyle, initial reaction? [00:00:35][22.3]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:00:35] Well, we don't have all the information, so that makes it difficult to figure out exactly what behavior Udoka conducted that would lead to the suspension. This is a Boston Celtics team rule thing. I don't know exactly what the NBA rule is when people sign contracts, especially people who are in the basketball operations side. And I don't know exactly the details of those rules, so I don't know exactly the information when it comes to like any code of conduct laws and rules and such, both in the NBA and the Celtics. We know that he's getting suspended for the year and we know that email doc is going to presumably still be the coach after the fact, which suggests that he broke an ethical line and not a line that was one that warranted the termination of his job. And I think it's an interesting position because there hasn't really been anything quite like this where we're talking about I mean, you could point to situations like in baseball with cheating scandals, but nothing like this that warrants a long term suspension. And so I think it'd be better to have more information around this case. And I don't want to do the speculation without knowing, because when you hear its story of sexual infidelity, all of a sudden men flock to that story and start going crazy about that idea. And I think that out of respect for whatever that situation is going to be, I don't want to do speculation. It's just we we know that whatever conduct he may Udoka engaged in is worthy of having it basically an unprecedented suspension because it's behavior that doesn't warrant a firing. But Warren, being away from the team for a year, it's a very unique situation, at least as far as I can remember. [00:02:17][101.4]
Julian Martinez: [00:02:18] It's interesting just knowing or at least what the report says, that this was a consensual relationship happened in the workplace. And, you know, I've been in workplaces, too, where they make you signed the contract that you will not date such and such because, you know, it may create a conflict of interest down the line. And I guess when you consider that Emma is the head coach, you know, is a powerful person in that organization, you worry about that blurring the lines later. And I guess this is if you're the Celtics, your way of protecting yourself, just a case, who knows years later, I don't know the staffer. I don't know what their interests are or what their future is in the NBA. But what if they say, Ime was a person in a position of power and he took advantage of that, you know, for this relationship, consensual now. But who knows what that could turn into or morph into ten years down the line. So maybe this is the Celtics way of prematurely handling this. It's unprecedented, too, because usually you don't see an organization shooting itself in the foot in terms of the product they are able to put out on the field for the Celtics, you know, email doc first your head coach takes you to the NBA Finals and less than a year later, we're talking about this. That's insane to me. We talked a little bit about this last night. We talked about what could the suspension be, because we already knew that it was circulating in the rumor mill about a month, maybe some games a year, a year for a coach that was ascending and, you know, to if you're like the players. So let's talk about like a year later after he comes off the suspension or the players together, are they just going to embrace him with open arms or let's say the Celtics have a down year in that down year, they feel is because of email. Don't you think that kind of like puts an impediment on leadership from teammates? [00:03:59][101.3]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:04:00] Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. [00:04:01][1.3]
Julian Martinez: [00:04:02] It just completely changes that locker room dynamic. We'll see if, like the Celtics even have a good season. You know, it's going to fall on the assistant coach. So we'll just put it out there that Joe Mizzola is going to be taking over for head coaching duties for the year. So that puts add to the rumor of Brad Stevens potentially coming down from the box and going down back to the hardwood. It looks like they're going to stick with assistant coach. And that's probably a smart move because you also don't want people thinking this flip flop relationship between who's the real head coach? Is Brad Stevens. Is that Emma? When you talk about a year later, there's a danger in that, too. What if the Celtics have a really good season? What if they do better than they did the previous year? Then you have this situation you talk about like when quarterbacks sometimes get hurt and they're back, that comes in and does a better job. Remember what Nick Foles did with that one year, you know, wins the Super Bowl and then that creates the awkward locker room dynamic with him and Carson Wentz. Now, that could happen, too. There's a whole can of worms that got opened with the suspension. Just surprises me, too. Again, this is a Celtics in House suspension. This is. In an NBA suspension. [00:05:07][64.7]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:05:08] Part of this is, and you mentioned it earlier, is the idea of him being in a leadership position. And therefore there is a power imbalance between whoever it is that he's having a relationship with because it's hard for anyone to be on the same level of leadership in a male dominated industry the way that Ime Doka is as head coach of the Boston Celtics, former NBA player for a decade. Like it's hard to that's a person in a position of power and we should expect that most of our organizations that are leaders are held to a higher standard than, say, the people who are employees, which is important to bring up, given the fact that now Robert Sarver is going to be pressured to sell his team despite the fact that he only got a year suspension and a fine. Well, let me ask you, do you think. [00:05:53][45.4]
Julian Martinez: [00:05:53] There's any situation in which you could date down any work with the NBA locker room and, you know, just any workplace could just I don't know. You're the supervisor at a fast food restaurant. Can you date your subordinate? [00:06:07][13.9]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:06:08] I am willing to talk it out in a conversation with nuance and involving more women. Like hearing the perspective of women who are not in positions of power is important when talking about these conversations and how they feel about pressure from people who are in positions of power to have relationships. I think that's a conversation that's much more complex than this weird world of sports that he may doka finds himself in because we just don't have the information available. So I would say it's a guess. There's a lot. [00:06:38][29.7]
Julian Martinez: [00:06:38] Of women also want to date successful men. And I would also say, like you talking about the head coach of the basketball team, that's a hell of a successful man right there. Sometimes you build yourself up to try and put yourself in a position where you're looked highly upon and well, that kind of means you can't do certain things because of it. [00:06:55][16.7]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:06:55] And that's a situation where. [00:06:56][1.2]
Julian Martinez: [00:06:56] It's yeah, it's you can't date a subordinate or coworker, whatever. [00:07:00][3.9]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:07:00] You could say. That's the situation where it's morally reprehensible and also for whatever the reasons may be, because I also acknowledge this is pro sports. If he made a joke, it adds value. He will be retained the same way that the Boston Red Sox fired Alex Cora because of the cheating scandal with the Astros and then hired him back a year later. Like, if you add value, you will get second chances and you will get to keep the position that you have. If Madoka was, for example, the general manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves named Gersson Rosas, who was also fired for having an inappropriate relationship with someone within the workplace, Gersson Rosas was not as was not someone who was worth retaining because the Timberwolves didn't want him around in the first place. And, you know, he wasn't doing a great job running the team. So I understand that part of of sports and how it will let people come back as long as they have value. So I'm not going to say like we don't know exactly what ethical or reprehensible line. Again, we don't have all the information. More details could come out that do lead to Emma Udoka being fired. A lot of it is is public pressure. And the Boston Celtics are obviously operating under their own code of conduct, which hopefully protects people in in. [00:08:11][71.0]
Julian Martinez: [00:08:12] Yeah. I mean, you know, in fairness, though, you know, again, this as far as we know, consensual relationship both parties were down how my parents met within the workplace. You know before the Internet most people met their significant other or spouse in the workplace. It's not a crazy idea. It's not a crazy suggestion that sometimes and specifically in this one. Okay. So she's a team staffer. That's all I know, right? You're traveling together, you're on the road together, you're talking with each other. Maybe you find out, oh, she likes the same movies I do. She likes to say music. I do. And one thing leads to another, and then suddenly it happens. You know, that can happen. That can happen very organically. I understand the Celtics want to protect their best interest because if again, years down the road, something shifts in their relationship and it becomes toxic, then you don't want to have that situation in your locker room, in your workplace. But tell you know, to play devil's advocate here, sometimes these relations morph in a more if he may put a ring on them, like what we'd be talking about in the same way. [00:09:12][59.4]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:09:12] In those cases, leaders are held to a higher standard than the rest of the employees. It's the fact that Ime Udoka is the head coach of the Boston Celtics is, I assume, the reason that he's being suspended because the stereotype of athletes cheating on spouses is something that's been played out over decades to the point where it's now a lazy stereotype like we know this exists in the NBA. Family Guy was making jokes about this like 13 years ago about infidelity in sports. Like that stereotype has been played out so much to this point that we don't know. [00:09:41][28.6]
Julian Martinez: [00:09:41] I assume we know long either, too. Like, is this an open marriage? Is this like are they even married? I don't even think they're married. I think they have a kid together, but they could be on the outs, you know, stuff like that happens that exists. Like just talk about it for on a human level, not just who you may is or who the staffer is or the Boston Celtics. You know, just, you know, if this was happening at a Dairy Queen or something, I don't know. I mentioned Gary calling, but what do we questioning? As much if, like, we knew that, hey, these people just get along, you know, they're. [00:10:09][28.0]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:10:10] Oh, well, if it were. If it were not a high profile job, we just wouldn't give a shit. Like, that's the thing I've learned about people in society is that because this is a famous person being involved in this and a famous leader at that, because again, this is a position of power that you may Udoka has and has the ability to abuse that power. And therefore this is a standard. [00:10:31][20.7]
Julian Martinez: [00:10:31] Necessarily abuse said power. [00:10:33][1.8]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:10:33] Yes. And that's why he's not being fired. It's just because this is, I assume, an immoral situation or an unethical situation for. [00:10:42][8.5]
Julian Martinez: [00:10:42] Deltec. [00:10:42][0.0]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:10:43] In a position of power within the workplace. [00:10:44][1.5]
Julian Martinez: [00:10:45] It's the Celtic protecting themselves. That's how I look at this. They just don't want this to morph into something worse, which given the political climate we live in today, you know, I understand they don't want to be involved in that. Years down the line, five years down the line, five months down the line, five days down the line. Stuff can like shift in terms of how people view one situation to another. So I understand why they're trying to, in theory, get ahead of this situation. Just sex or email sex or the team. It's going to suck for his leadership moving forward. How the Celtics view him moving forward, how guys who are developing in their careers Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams, all these guys look at him moving forward. We'll see how that dynamic goes. It's a great opportunity. Certainly if you're Missoula, you know, hey, take the reins and run with it. We'll see. What has this situation morphs to like? You know, you mentioned possibility they still have an open door firing. I don't think that's going to get to that point. [00:11:37][51.9]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:11:38] Like, yeah, we just don't have all the information. We don't have all the. [00:11:41][3.1]
Julian Martinez: [00:11:41] Year that's still developing too. It could very well turn into a couple months. There could be appeals process. There's a lot of things that could go on and this that may shift what the overall suspension and punishment or whatever it may be is. But overall, you know, whatever your thoughts are, you know, dropping below in the comments, kind of want to get some feedback how you're feeling about the situation where the Celtics in the right to make this move was he may in the wrong this that other anything in all how you're feeling I kind of want hear your thoughts leave it like on the video subscribe to the channel follow us on all our social media that you should talk sports. Kyle Ledbetter JuJu Talks Sports on Twitter. Stay safe, happy and healthy and we'll see you on the next one. [00:11:41][0.0]
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