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.”
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.”
