Matt Barnes originally came to Ime Udoka’s defense after hearing about his affair with a Boston Celtics staffer. He has now backtracked and clarified his response.
“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,” the former NBA player said.
“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 is the reason why I erased my post last night because after I posted it, I got a call from someone who ran all the details and shit is deep. Praying for everybody involved, hope everyone gets through this.”
Barnes—who is now an analyst for ESPN—initially posted a message saying he was surprised that Udoka was suspended as head coach for the Celtics after the scandal came to light.
“I played in the league for a long time. Anyone who played in the league can tell you: this is a very common situation. This is not new news for people who have been in the league or even around organizations.”
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It was announced on Thursday night that Udoka is suspended for the 2022-2023 season and that assistant coach Joe Mazzulla is now interim head coach.
Udoka shared a statement following incident, saying, “I want to apologize to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for letting them down. 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.”
