Weeks after his suspension over an affair with a female staff, Ime Udoka, the fiancé of Nia Long, is getting a new job as the Boston Celtics coach’s hiring by the Brooklyn Nets is nearing completion. Before beginning his coaching position with The Celtcis last summer, Udoka spent a year as an assistant coach for the Nets.
According to ESPN sources a formal deal might be struck as early as Wednesday. Although there are talks going on before a deal can be signed, sources claimed that Boston is not interfering with Brooklyn’s intention to recruit Udoka.
In September, The Celtics suspended Ime for the 2022-23 season for his “improper relationship” with a subordinate before training camp. The woman was revealed to be 34-year-old Kathleen Nimmo Lynch, a married mother of three who serves as the Celtics’ team service manager.
Nia Long and Ime Udoka, 45, have been engaged since 2015, and the couple has a son together who was born in 2011. From a previous relationship, the actress also has an older son. After learning of Udoka’s suspension and the affair, 52-year-old Long requested privacy rather than commenting on the status of her relationship with her future husband.
According to ESPN, an independent law firm probe into suspended Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka found that he used “crude language” in his dialogue with a female subordinate prior to the start of an improper workplace relationship with the woman. The report says this element significantly factored into the severity of his one-year suspension.
The investigation found that Udoka’s verbiage was deemed “especially concerning” coming from a workplace superior.
The power dynamic associated with a superior’s improper relationship with a staff member was the primary finding and policy violation cited in the law firm’s report. No further details were made public about the work place affair following the investigation.
