Nia Long is calling out the Boston Celtics for how the organization handled the scandal last year involving her ex, Ime Udoka, who was suspended as the team’s head coach for what was reported to be an improper relationship with a team employee.
On Monday, the actor shared a video on Instagram of author and activist Yaba Blay discussing “white tears” on the “We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle” podcast.
“The minute a white woman cries, the world has to stop. ‘Oh my God, what’s wrong with you, baby?’” Blay says in the video. “A Black woman cries? We could be rolling around on the ground screaming, and you are unmoved because you’ve been socialized not to see us as human beings.”
Long appeared to hint that she believes race had something to do with how the Celtics handled the scandal, writing in the caption, “Where was this level of awareness a year ago @celtics???”
The Boston Celtics did not immediately return a call for comment.
A spokesperson for the team told The Associated Press last year that Udoka’s violations of team policies, which led to his suspension, involved one unnamed woman within the organization.
Tommaso Boddi via Getty Images
Long was embroiled in a media circus last year when the Celtics suspended Udoka and held a press conference addressing his punishment in September 2022.
During the news conference, Brad Stevens, the team’s general manager, criticized social media users for speculating about which female staff member of the Celtics might have been involved in the scandal.
“Nobody can control Twitter speculation and rampant bullshit, but I do think that we as an organization have a responsibility to make sure we’re there to support them now,” he said at the time. “A lot of people were dragged unfairly into that.”
Long, who shares an 11-year-old son, Kez, with Udoka, has since called out the Celtics organization for their lack of support for her and Kez amid the media frenzy.
“I think the most heartbreaking thing about all of this was seeing my son’s face when the Boston Celtics organization decided to make a very private situation public,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in December, adding, “It was devastating, and it still is.”
She continued, “If you’re in the business of protecting women — I’m sorry, no one from the Celtics organization has even called to see if I’m OK, to see if my children are OK. It’s very disappointing.”
Long confirmed her split from Udoka — now head coach of the Houston Rockets — in a statement to the Los Angeles Times in December. Last month, she requested legal and physical custody of Kez, claiming Udoka “has failed” to provide support for their son, according to court documents obtained by Entertainment Tonight.
The “You People” actor also has a 22-year-old son, Massai, from a previous relationship.
Long has received wide online support from her dedicated fans after news of Udoka’s scandal broke last year.
ESPN host Stephen A. Smith said in April that he believed the Celtics owed the actor an apology for how the team publicly handled Udoka’s suspension.
“What about the sister, the Black woman named Nia Long, that was thrown to the wolves by having all of this publicized?” he said in an episode of his podcast, “Know Mercy with Stephen A. Smith.” “Did she deserve that?”