When Tatum was asked on Monday by a Boston Herald reporter how he learned of Udoka’s suspension, the small forward answered, “S**t, on Twitter, like everybody else.”
The Celtics organization has not divulged many details about why Udoka was disciplined, which seems to be a policy that’s extended to the team, judging by Tatum’s response.
Boston announced last week that Udoka had been suspended for one year following a monthslong investigation. Before the disciplinary action was made public, ESPN reported sources said the punishment was brought on due to the coach having a relationship with an unnamed woman who works with the organization. Udoka himself also hasn’t directly addressed the allegations, but he released a statement in which he apologized to his family and Celtics fans.
During the Celtics’ media day on Monday, other players said they felt bewildered about Udoka’s suspension. Jaylen Brown said the team was “all shocked about what was going on—a little bit confused.”
“Nobody really has any of the information, so it’s difficult to make a comment on how things were supposed to go and how the process went or anything,” Brown said. “The best thing we can do is put our best foot forward.”
“Literally no one knows anything right now,” Marcus Smart said to reporters. “We’re still waiting just like everybody else. So as a player, you’d like to know [more], but that’s none of our business. It’s their lives, the people that are involved. It’s between them, and we should respect that privacy and we understand, just like we want our privacy respected.”
Smart—the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for the 2021-22 season—added, “Although as a player, yeah, you’d like to know, but like I said, it’s not an obligation.”
The secrecy regarding the allegations against Udoka that led to his suspension has also resulted in a great deal of criticism from the media. Last week on his show First Take, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith called on the Boston franchise to name the female employee who was allegedly involved in the scandal.
Smith’s comments resulted in Malika Andrews, host of ESPN’s NBA Today, to call into his show and accuse Smith of blaming the woman allegedly involved. A heated exchange resulted between the two hosts, which garnered headlines in news outlets.
When Wyc Grousbeck, the Celtics’ majority owner, addressed Udoka’s suspension for the first time publicly on Friday, he declined to go into specifics about the punishment. Instead, he cited “privacy reasons” for not speaking more on Udoka’s misconduct.
Newsweek reached out to the Boston Celtics for comment.
