Nia Long has broken her silence after fiancé Ime Udoka was suspended from his position as Boston Celtics coach following an alleged affair with a female staff member.
The Best Man actress issued a statement on Friday asking for privacy as she tries to “process” what happened.
“The outpouring of love and support from family, friends and the community during this difficult time means so much to me,” Long said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight. “I ask that my privacy be respected as I process the recent events. Above all, I am a mother and will continue to focus on my children.”
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Long, 51, and Udoka, 45, have been engaged since 2015. They met in 2010 and had a son together the following year. The actress has another son from a previous relationship.
TMZ reported Friday Long was “blindsided” by Udoka’s alleged affair. The website said she moved from Los Angeles to Boston just two weeks ago and the couple had recently been house hunting.
On Thursday, news broke that the Celtics had suspended Udoka for the entire 2022–23 season for violating the team’s employee policies. The suspension came in the wake of news reports about his involvement in an “improper” consensual relationship with a female staffer.
A short time later, Udoka issued a public apology.
“I want to apologize to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for letting them down,” he said in a statement to ESPN. “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.”
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Udoka joined the Celtics in summer 2021 after serving as an assistant coach with several teams following his NBA playing career.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens spoke with reporters Friday about the team’s decision, and called “bulls–t” on Twitter speculation about the identity of the woman who was reportedly involved with Udoka.
“We have a lot of talented women in our organization, and I thought yesterday was really hard on them,” Stevens said. “And I think that nobody can control Twitter speculation and rampant bulls–t. But I do think that we as an organization have a responsibility to make sure that we’re there to support them now. Because a lot of people were dragged unfairly into that.”
Listen to Stevens’ comments below.
Brad Stevens got emotional about “Twitter speculation and rampant bullshit” about women in the Celtics org pic.twitter.com/CTW7xgRgaK
— Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) September 23, 2022
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