BOSTON – The Boston Celtics announced today that the team has suspended Head Coach Ime Udoka for the 2022-23 season for violations of team policies. A decision about his future with the Celtics beyond this season will be made at a later date. The suspension takes effect immediately. 

On September 21, 2022, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that the Celtics were planning to punish Udoka for an organizational violation. Although the initial report excluded the reasoning for the punishment, it was revealed shortly thereafter that he had engaged in an improper intimate relationship with a female Celtics staff member. Though the relationship was originally believed by the organization to be consensual, the woman involved later accused Udoka of making unwanted comments towards her. This resulted in the Celtics opening an investigation into the matter, conducting multiple internal interviews. On September 22, Udoka was given a suspension by the team lasting the entirety of the 2022–23 season, made effective immediately. Udoka issued an apology after the suspension was handed out. He chose not to resign from his position as a result of the violation, though Wojnarowski additionally reported that Udoka is not guaranteed to stay with the organization following the 2022–23 season. Assistant coach Joe Mazzulla took his place as the interim head coach.

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