Here is the crux of Stephen A. Smith’s argument.
If the Celtics weren’t going to fire Ime Udoka, they should have kept this all in-house. His second point is if it was a consensual relationship, why aren’t both parties being punished? His last point is if there is something else going on besides consensual relationships, the Celtics need to be more transparent with that information.
Malika Andrews took that as Stephen A. Smith pointing the finger at the women in the situation because Stephen A. stated if the Celtics cared about women, they would be transparent about who Udoka had a consensual relationship.
That is when Stephen A. let Andrews know that First Take is HIS show and she isn’t going to talk over him. It was a pretty spirited debate.
Meanwhile, Nia Long just released a statement that she had no idea Udoka was cheating on her.
Nia Long says she’s gonna need all the support she can get after getting blindsided by her fiance, Celtics Coach Ime Udoka … who we’ve learned kept her in the dark about his affair, even though the team busted him months ago.
Sources connected to the team and the couple tell TMZ … Nia had moved to Boston with Kez, her 10-year-old son with Ime, just 2 weeks ago, and the couple was house hunting.
The sad twist for Nia is that when she moved, Ime was already fully aware his affair with a married front office staffer was about to blow up. We’re told Ime knew way back in July the team was aware of the affair, and would be taking action.
Meanwhile, we’re told Nia only found out about it in the last few days … and only because Ime knew it was about to go public.
Nia tells TMZ … “The outpouring of love and support from family, friends and the community during this difficult time means so much to me. I ask that my privacy be respected as I process the recent events. Above all, I am a mother and will continue to focus on my children.”
It should be noted that ESPN’s WOJ broke the story, and he is why we even know about all this.
Wild times in Boston and ESPN.
Flip the pages for Stephen A. going in on Malika Andrews.