When reports first broke that Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka would be suspended for having an inappropriate relationship with a female staff member, the reaction on social media was fierce. Internet trolls have directed malicious comments at multiple female employees of the organization, speculating on who is involved in the allegations and sharing personal information about them.
It was a sticking point for Celtics president of operations Brad Stevens during Friday’s press conference.
“We have a lot of really talented women in our organization,” Stevens said, visibly choking up. “And I thought it was very difficult for them yesterday. And I think that, you know, nobody can control the speculation on Twitter—the rampant [expletive]. But I think we, as an organization, have a responsibility to be there to support them now, because a lot of people are being unfairly dragged into it.”
According to Lauren Hindman, assistant professor of sports management at Stonehill College, the Celtics didn’t have a great opportunity to respond. It couldn’t identify those who weren’t involved without automatically revealing those who were, but, she said, the team was able to reveal more details about the situation to reduce the amount of speculation.
“People blamed the women because this was a ‘consensual’ relationship, as it was reported,” she said during an appearance in Greater Boston on Monday night. “Although that term – ‘consensual’ – was used and was initially reported, further reporting suggested that there was more to the story, that there were some unsolicited comments.”
Hindman emphasized that the situation exacerbated existing stereotypes about women playing professional sports.
“One thing that women face working in sports that I’ve found in my research is the assumption that they work in sports because they want to sleep with the players — or in this case, the coach,” she said. “And that’s not true, but it’s something which they have to face in their workplace, and now they had to face it on Twitter, out in the open [in] public.”
Both Hindman and Gary Washburn, NBA and Celtics reporter for The Boston Globe, speculated that there was more to the story given the severity and length of the suspension. The team was coming off a winning season and headed into the new season with high expectations after reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in 12 years.
“This coach, Ime Udoka, took them to the NBA Finals in his first season,” Washburn said. “This had to be the worst case scenario for the franchise. Trust me, they didn’t want that. This is not someone with an ax to grind against coach Udoka. Actions had to meet the punishment.”
“We certainly wouldn’t expect to see a suspension of this length because of a consensual relationship, potentially even with the power dynamics at play,” Hindman added.
When asked if a punishment like this could send a warning to other high-ranking officials in the league, she hesitated to say that it would.
“I see this over and over again,” she said. “I don’t know if that will be enough.”
Watch: Did the Celtics do enough to protect employees in the Udoka scandal?
