Whew, Nothing Like A Word From Stephen A. Smith
The outspoken commentator made his rounds to The Breakfast Club this week and highlighted on the Celtics making an example of suspended coach, Ime Udoka. As previously reported, he’s been banned from the NBA for a year.
Rumors have circulated that Udoka had a consensual relationship with Kathleen Nimmo Lynch, the team owner’s wife. In addition to her spousal role, she also works as the team’s service manager.
Despite the embattled coach’s alleged history of infidelity with multiple female partners, Smith said he should’ve practiced better discipline,
“There’s no excuse for him to find himself in that position…but it’s none of our business, he explained. There’s no reason on Earth you can justify, to me, why the Boston Celtics had that press conference.
Smith mentioned the possible color barriers between Udoka and others in the league when it comes to disciplinary action for the same discrepancy,
“I mentioned his Blackness only from this perspective. You kept him, you retained him, you didn’t fire him. That means no one has the right to come and get him. You suspended him, but it was indefinite.
He continued,
“And I’m like, so he doesn’t, he can’t work. He can’t go elsewhere. You docked half his pay. His future’s up in arms. That’s right. And you publicized his personal business.”
The former ESPN analyst hit on another interesting note in regard to race in the league and how “white dudes” receive better protection in-house than those of color saying,
“I know plenty of white dudes that’s, that’s screwing around in the office. [However] this stuff wasn’t public. I know at least three dudes personally that got fired because of it. It was never publicized.”
He concluded,
“And guess why? [Because] they working for another team now. Not in their capacity that they were, it might have been on the lower level, but they still are employed in the same, in in, in with the same brand. Because why? It wasn’t publicized to put out on Front Street like that.”
360 also reported on LeBron James’ experiences while in Boston for games saying that fans are “racist as f–k.”
According to the Harvard Business Review, within the workforce, white men are able to maintain their high-positioned powered jobs as opposed to Black men who make up less than 8% of white collar six-figure salaried jobs.
Despite the increase in economic mobility for African Americans, white men continue dominating in positions of all tiers.
Press play for the clip below:
