Ime Udoka, the head coach of the Celtics, has been suspended for the 2022-2023 season

Just a few short months after he guided the club to the National Basketball Association finals in his first year as head coach, the Boston Celtics banned Head Coach Ime Udoka for the 2022–2023 season on Thursday for “violations of team regulations.” The reasons for the suspension were not revealed.

Udoka allegedly had an improper connection with a female team member, which was deemed a breach of the team’s organisational norms. This information was provided by a person who had been informed on the situation but was not permitted to talk publicly about it.

The Celtics have not disclosed who will serve as a replacement for Udoka while he is suspended. The club said in a statement that it will “make a decision regarding Udoka’s future in Boston at a later date” when it announced the penalty that Udoka would receive. Wyc Grousbeck, who owns a controlling stake in the Celtics, refused to comment. Another spokeswoman for the Celtics refused to comment as well.

Before being hired by the Celtics to take over the head coaching duties for the first time in June 2021, Udoka served as an assistant coach for nine seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Brooklyn Nets. The Celtics were unable to defeat the Warriors in the National Basketball Association championships this past June.

The rumour that Udoka would be suspended was made public for the first time late on Wednesday. The claims sparked a firestorm, with many individuals taking to social media to publish the names and images of women who work for the Celtics along with their speculations about whether or not they were engaged in the matter.

He indicated that he would not make any additional comments.

The National Basketball Association is having a difficult month, and Udoka’s ban comes at a difficult time.

Anthony Edwards, the guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves, was fined $40,000 on Tuesday for uttering homophobic statements in a post that he had published on Instagram, where he has more than one million followers.

The National Basketball Association announced a week ago the findings of an inquiry that revealed Robert Sarver, the primary owner of the Phoenix Suns and the W.N.B.A.’s Phoenix Mercury, engaged in a pattern of improper conduct that spanned many years. Over the course of more than a decade, the inquiry revealed, among other things, that Sarver had treated female workers unjustly and used racist slurs in the workplace. Sarver was given a one-year suspension and fined the highest amount allowed by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, which was 10 million dollars. On the other hand, Sarver made the announcement on Wednesday that he wanted to sell both teams in response to criticisms that the sentence was too lenient.

On Monday, both the Suns and the Celtics are going to have media days in preparation for the 2022-23 season.

Udoka, a native of Portland, Oregon, embarked on a nomadic career as a basketball player, playing in several countries outside of the United States until catching on with the Portland Trail Blazers for the 2006–2007 season as the starting small forward for that team. During the following four seasons, he played for both the San Antonio Spurs and the Sacramento Kings.

This past summer, he was one of a number of Black coaches that were appointed to head coaching responsibilities, including many others who, like him, had been assistants for a considerable amount of time. The National Basketball Association (NBA) has long been the target of criticism for having a majority of white head coaches in a league that is mostly comprised of black players.

By the middle of January, the Boston Celtics had a record of 21-22 and seemed to be headed for a disappointing season. But the Celtics finished the regular season with a 28-13 record, which was good enough for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, they were able to sweep the Nets, and then they were able to eliminate the Milwaukee Bucks, who were the reigning champions. In the championship game of the Eastern Conference, Boston prevailed against the Miami Heat.

The journey to the NBA finals marked Boston’s first participation in the championship round since the year 2010. In the vote for Coach of the Year, Udoka finished in fourth place overall. Will Hardy, who served as Udoka’s top assistant during the previous season, was just recently selected to take over coaching responsibilities for the Utah Jazz.