In the newest episode of Men in Pro Sports Behaving Inappropriately – it’s an regrettable nonstop series – the Boston Celtics suspended head coach Ime Udoka for the 2022-23 season for “violations of group policies.”
The declaration from Boston did not information those offenses, however Udoka had a consensual relationship with a group staffer, a individual familiar with the scenario informed USA TODAY Sports. The individual askedfor privacy duetothefactthat they were not licensed to speak openly about the delicate nature of the subject.
How much credit the Celtics shouldhave for their suspension of Udoka is undetermined. If the consensual relationship didn’t endedupbeing public through the media reporting it, who understands if they would’ve simply kept the problem in-house and dealt with it internally. Perhaps they prepared to suspend Udoka regardless.
But assoonas it endedupbeing public, the Celtics acted, and it was required, accepting whatever damaging fallout there is. (Before this continues, yes, it’s difficult to overlook the optics of Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner Robert Sarver getting a comparable suspension for almost 2 years of undesirable workenvironment habits. I can just state Sarver’s charge from the NBA oughtto’ve been more extreme, and in Udoka’s case, it’s the group making the choice and not the league.)
CELTICS DECISION: Udoka suspended for season for offenses of group policies
MEET JOE MAZZULLA: Who is the Celtics’ brand-new interim head coach after Ime Udoka’s suspension?
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This is a unusual penalty. It’s not frequently a group suspends a coach for any length of time. It’s normally the league suspending a coach for an occurrence with a referee or an off-court legal problem such as a DUI.
Whatever one might believe about the personal lives of 2 grownups, what a group – or a service – can’t have is a individual in power having that kind of relationship with somebody who is thoughtabout in broad terms a secondary and definitely not an equivalent on the org chart.
That’s why there are guidelines versus that in lotsof offices. Not just are executives not permitted to have intimate relationships with those lower on the org chart, if they’re having a relationship with somebody in another department or at the verysame level, it needto be revealed.
TV executive Jeff Zucker lost his task at CNN since he stoppedworking to divulge a romantic relationship with another CNN executive, and then-Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas was fired one year ago for an unsuitable relationship with a coworker.
In Udoka’s case, there are too lotsof harmful characteristics at play such as power, impact and workplace spirits. Even when it’s 2 consenting grownups, the p