Stephen A. Smith recently got ESPN’s “NBA Today” host Malika Andrews together live on the air during an Ime Udoka discussion.
Boston head coach Ime Udoka has been at the top of sports media since the news broke that he had a consensual relationship with a married woman on the Celtics staff.
The Celtics organization suspended Udoka for one year, indefinitely, after an outside law firm performed a thorough investigation and found that he violated team policy.
Malika Andrews called into Stephen A. Smith’s show “First Take” on Friday (September 23), and she expressed her concern with other women in the Celtics organization being unfairly dragged into the Ime Udoka’s affair, be it by social media or sports media.
She got spicy with Stephen A. for his take on how the Celtics organization handled Ime’s situation.
The fact that we are sitting here debating rather someone else should be suspended or not… We are not here Stephen A. to further blame women… THAT IS NOT WHY WE ARE HERE!
Stephen A. Smith immediately responded to Malika:
Let me be very clear, I don’t appreciate where you’re going with that.
I’m not blaming anybody but Ime Udoka.
He deserved to be fired, if they were going to fire him.
If you’re not going to fire him, then don’t fire him.
My issue is all of this being publicized.
Malika attempted to respond, and Stephen A. checked her.
Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me!… I listened to you.
You’re the one telling me to stop on my show, it ain’t happening!
Stephen A. goes on to say:
My whole point is, excuse me, make sure that you handle it in the same fashion it has always been handled.
You could’ve fired him, and then we could’ve speculated until the cows came home, but he’s gone.
But to keep him there, keep him employed, but in the same breathe suspend him for a year.
Then also that year is indefinite, that is the issue that I have.
I’m just talking about you have owners and everybody else, they know what’s going on.
They didn’t say anything about everybody else all the other times this stuff has happened, but now when it comes to him it’s all over the place.
That is my issue, that is my only issue.
Malika verbally surrendered and told Stephen A. she appreciates him clarifying his stance.
She also stated that “we are missing a key piece of information here,” based on the press conference that the Celtics organization held to announce Udoka’s suspension.
Watch the video clip from “First Take” below:
Scoop some Twitter reaction to the conversation below:
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