Nia Long, long-time partner of Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka, slammed the Celtics organization for how they handled her fiancé’s suspension.
In September, after a lengthy investigation of the actions of their head coach, Ime Udoka, the Celtics decided to suspend him for the entire season, thus until the summer of 2023. The reason? He had violated numerous team policies, including having an inappropriate consensual relationship with a female staffer. The Celtics were tipped to that possibility over the summer and decided to hire an independent law firm to investigate it.
Many on social media responded to the news by showing support for Udoka’s fianceé, Long, who had just moved to Boston to be with him. The actress has not commented on the situation until today.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Long did not directly discuss anything regarding the alleged affair but rather focused her emotions on the way the Celtics handled Udoka’s suspension, whom with she has an 11-year-old son. “The most heartbreaking thing about all of this was seeing my son’s face when the Boston Celtics organization decided to make a very private situation public.”
She explains that she pulled her son out of school that day, noting that the news was obviously not easy for him to hear, and added that, upon hearing the w herself, “I literally felt like my heart jumped out of my body.”
Udoka and Long have been together since 2010 and engaged since 2015, though Long had previously stated that they have no plans to actually marry. It appears that, despite recent circumstances, the two are still together.
Long is an award-winning actress, perhaps best known for playing Jordan Armstrong in The Best Man films, which is only one of some 70 roles she’s had in her career.
Udoka won the NBA Finals as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014 and was hired as the head coach of the Boston Celtics in 2021. It took him only one year to bring the Celtics to the NBA Finals where they fell to the Golden State Warriors earlier this year.
Long offered one last criticism of the Celtics, saying, “No one from the Celtics organization has even called to see if I’m ok or to see if my children are ok. It’s very disappointing.”
However, referring to the social media response, Long spoke positively. “What I found was this tribe of women and men who were standing up for me in a way that felt like I was in this bubble of protection and that was very comforting.”
It has been speculated that Long ended her long-time relationship with Udoka, though that remains somewhat unclear. However, she recently moved back to Los Angeles, suggesting that the relationship may very well be over.
