Speaking on Friday’s NBA Countdown, ESPN’s Jalen Rose made some controversial comments as it relates to Ime Udoka and specifically, the Boston Celtics employee accusing Udoka of making unwanted advances toward her. Rose apologized shortly after the comments.
Towards the end of the NBA Countdown pregame show, Rose wanted to know why the woman’s name is not known to the public, given that Udoka’s is.
“We know his (Udoka’s) name. Maybe I’m missing something as it relates to the law but why don’t we know her name? It’s not like she’s a minor. I feel like we should know her name publicly, as well.
Rose’s initial comments earlier tonight on NBA Countdown: pic.twitter.com/KaGhb58fHU
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 5, 2022
Then at halftime of the game between the Chicago Bulls and Celtics, ESPN aired a statement from Rose apologizing for his commentary.
“I would like to apologize for a comment I made earlier on NBA Countdown. I question why a woman’s name, who had an alleged affair with Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, was not made public. After an internal investigation and it was discovered that she was a subordinate to the head coach, I now understand fully why her name should not be released to the public.”
Jalen Rose apologizes after questioning why the Celtics staffer involved with Ime Udoka should be able to maintain privacy: pic.twitter.com/9tjuxGTkv4
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 5, 2022
Initial reports said that while inappropriate, Udoka’s relationship with the team employee was consensual. Not long after, it was revealed that the woman was accusing Udoka of making “unwanted advances.”
Roughly 90 minutes passed between Rose’s initial comments and his apology. In between, there was significant backlash directed toward him and ESPN. There’s really no defending Rose’s initial comments. But once those were made, the best that he and ESPN could do was to offer an apology, which he did.
Udoka is still presently serving a one-year suspension as coach of the Celtics. Udoka has been strongly linked to the Brooklyn Nets, who recently fired Steve Nash. Before his comments on Friday, Rose publicly supported the idea of the Nets hiring Udoka.
[Photo Credit: ESPN]
