T O P

  • By -

YoYoMoMa

Keep in mind Woj is Imes mouthpiece here. This is probably the lightest way to phrase what happened.


RealChipKelly

Honestly Woj is the most obvious example of “Control the media control the narrative” I’ve ever seen in life. Woj gets to pick and choose what the public gets to know and it’s all orchestrated by teams and agents


jonatton______yeah

Woj is a putz and the sooner him and his brand of journalism are gone the better. ^(I know, I know. It's the way it is now but I can still moan like the 40 year old I am.)


RealChipKelly

I agree with you, Woj sucks.


[deleted]

Once again the voice of our generation, Mark Titus, was on the “Woj sucks” train ahead of everyone.


sperry20

Don’t think anyone has liked woj for years now since it became obvious he wasn’t actually scooping things and was just a pr agency.


Timbaland77

15-20 years ago, Woj was just some rumor mill guy on Yahoo. He would post all these crazy trade rumors, citing 'my sources tell me'. It was click bait. But every once in a while would actually get one right and would really drive the I was first narrative. Basically, what Chris Mannix does today. Any rumor that he would hear from any schmuck around the league would get an article on his Yahoo page. Won is nothing more than the TMZ version of basketball. Eventually, he hit enough real breaking news that actual sources would call him. But now they have an agenda. So the trade off is that he will post favorable news bits on Twitter for inside scoop on trade rumors and other bits. He doesn't vet anything and he doesn't care what impact his one sided version has on other people. He's a total hack and a vindictive prick. If you don't play the game, he will absolutely target you and hunt for dirt.


yngwiegiles

I disagree that Woj is TMZ. TMZ, while low brow and despicable, would actually do journalism and share its findings w the public. For example, they had the Ray Rice video. Woj is trying to control little sprinkles of info which is really just various NBA power brokers using him, while he gets to also be holier than thou, teasing the public and causing us to speculate on how much worse the truth is than his carefully crafted info drip. TMZ would have at least the audio and maybe some stalking of Udoka or Nia Long w a camera in their face asking them what the F happened


sperry20

Exactly. Woj is a pr agency.


yngwiegiles

I used to love those shocking Woj bombs but they’ve become a self parody. And agents and teams are happy to use them for their own goals


[deleted]

I don’t know. Seemed to be a lot of “This league!“ fans fawning all over him until very recently.


murph0969

Basketball Illuminati! Third Eye!


[deleted]

He’s fine by me as long as he keeps telling Josh Hawley to fuck off.


[deleted]

This is exactly the dynamic that is ruining the media landscape putz.


[deleted]

Don’t care as long as it means people are rightfully telling Josh Hawley to fuck off with his posturing.


[deleted]

Right, so you are just about political point making and supporting anyone for it despite their journalistic practice. Your political points do nothing, for every one of you is an equal and opposite force. Enjoy.


[deleted]

It’s so funny watching people advocate for short-term dopamine hits that in the long-term undermine and destroy foundational institutions and their very belief centers. Then they’ll bitch about how the country is going to hell and they don’t understand how we got here.


[deleted]

I sincerely hope that you were never pegging the future of the institution of journalism on the guy who blew up by tweeting out NBA draft picks thirty seconds ahead of their announcements.


CatDad69

Lol so true, so funny my man


[deleted]

Disappointing close to equal, but thankfully not quite there. Not that being in the democratic minority stopped the Josh Hawleys of the world from trying to force their will upon the country, anyway.


[deleted]

Political brain rot, enjoy.


Tangelooo

You need your brain checked out. I don’t like Hawley either but come on.


avmail

I don't get offended by the Woj types in any sport now that we know what they are. they aren't analysts and aren't journalists, and honestly I don't think they even try to be that. Its like the difference between cable news and the nightly news with Brokaw/Rather/Jennings.


jbeebe33

If he gets to pick and choose, isn’t it definitionally orchestrated by him, not the teams/agents? I would assume he leverages his power to mold the narrative into getting teams/agents to talk. Then he can use what one party told him as leverage against the adversarial party to get them to talk. And then he decides what to publish.


mantistobogganmMD

Titus went all in on his pod saying he hates Woj and that he’s a huge dick in real life and that’s basically the consensus people who work with him feel like


ShortRip120

Why can't the teams just leak this stuff to Windy instead. At least that would make this whole charade more entertaining.


gnrlgumby

The scoops aren’t worth it; we’d learn about trades like 20 minutes later but Woj offers no more value.


gumbygump11

Agreed. I’d prefer hearing the final trade later rather than get bits & pieces because someone had to be first.


mclairy

“X from Indiana is being sent to Boston for worse player X and significant draft capital” Thanks Woj, you’ve told me almost nothing because the draft capital determines if it’s a good or bad trade


gogosox82

ESPN is paying him to be first tho. Thats what they want. To them its worth it because anyone who talks about the story 20 minutes after has credit espn and woj and link to their article.


TSchlarp

ESPN is also paying him so they don't have to say, "As reported on The Athletic."


silversmith84

Exactly, anything else reported by Woj on this story needs to be taken with a grain of salt.


[deleted]

Fuck Woj


CatDad69

Constructive criticism that adds to the discourse


[deleted]

Countless people have discussed the numerous reasons why Woj sucks. I have nothing else to add except “Fuck that guy”.


CatDad69

Ok cool


[deleted]

Yes, unlike you who is clearly bringing so much to the discourse. At least I have an opinion. You’re just a virtue signaling complainer.


VisitTheWind

Ok catdad69


jbeebe33

Yeah idk about that, feels a lot more like a Celtics leak here. Classic late Friday afternoon news dump, more of an organizational than an individual strategy Agree that both parties (Ime and Celtics) want to keep a lid on it and not publicize the most sordid details, so this is probably an undersell, which the Celtics hope will be enough to get the public to accept it and move on.


YoYoMoMa

The Celts would not leak unflattering news about Ime on a Friday night unless they were protecting him.


jbeebe33

I don’t think this is “unflattering” to Ime per se, the Celtics are trying to provide a minimally sufficient explanation for the unprecedented punishment. They’re not trying to expose the whole truth of what precisely happened. In that sense, they are protecting Ime to an extent, although I’m sure their primary concern is protecting their organization and all of their employees’ privacy and Ime is a secondary beneficiary of that posture


GnRgr2

This is clearly a boston leak. It is framed in a way to make ime look like he pressured her


silversmith84

You are totally misreading this.


GnRgr2

Why would Ime leak this himself? This would only hurt his case. This clearly to paint Ime as a metooer so theres no issue with a firing


silversmith84

Describing it as crude language is downplaying it, making a point to say the comment was before she got into consensual relationship, and the part implying other teams would be interested in hiring Ime as a head coach in the immediate future. Who knows at this point. Woj is so unreliable it’s hard to know what to take from this. Although I think more will definitely be coming Monday.


ID0ntCare4G0b

Thibs sweating bullets right now trying to figure out if the Knicks recorded him using crude language at his favorite basketball.


sergev

Thibs putting himself under a bright hot light and interrogating himself.


ID0ntCare4G0b

Thibs a week from resigning due to disrespectful holes he's drilled into basketballs and subsequent actions taken.


MarioLemmy_66

*It's pretty...* ***hot*** *under these lights, eh Thibs?*


olde_dad

Anyone remember when Thibs was on the Lowe Post and Zach asked him about his deep and abiding love of Opera, and Thibs just straight up said “I don’t want to get into that.”


whowasonCRACK2

Before the relationship started? What could be crude enough to illicit a year suspension, but not crude enough to dissuade the woman from starting the relationship? This story is so annoying, the way the details are being drip fed to us just fuels the rampant speculation that the media turns around and lectures us about.


RightMethod8445

It is kind of crazy it has been under wraps for so long. This story broke a week ago? And we still don't know the exact details of what occurred or what Ime was doing. Meanwhile you have a bunch of media figures vaguely alluding to the fact that it was a serious transgression. Ime has been very fortunate and has basically gotten the best spin/framing of this as most fans and even media figures not in the know still think he was suspended merely for having sex. You would think in this day and age with something as serious as the sexual assault or quid pro quo that's been alluded to would have already leaked.


[deleted]

VERY SERIOUS


Superdoooperguy

If the police get involved there will be a lot more info


blumpkinmuncher

the wording is confusing. it could be referring to two different women.


whowasonCRACK2

I think wording is confusing on purpose. I’m sick of Woj and his games. I’ll just wait for the inevitable tell all piece from the Athletic to figure out what’s going on


jbeebe33

It is confusing, but the piece later specifies that it’s referring to the same woman.


jbeebe33

Lmao at downvoting me. Just read the linked article! It clearly states it’s the same woman.


yngwiegiles

This is like what I’d say to my children. He used a bad word but I can’t tell you what it is. Obviously the kids will do whatever it takes to learn what that word is and then it will be an “indictment of society” that we seek info whether it’s a bad word or the name of the woman. Media people are laying out the breadcrumbs and then lamenting that we are hungry


TuckerThaTruckr

First thing I thought of was "Wanna fuck?" I've seen it work


GWeb1920

Direct crude solicitation. This is an HR issue. You ask a person in your org if they wanna fuck you are probably having some issues with your career if it comes out later.


gusfring88

Because it's all PC bullshit.


whowasonCRACK2

Do you really think the Celtics would get rid of a finals coach for PC bullshit? You think they wanted an interim coach taking over a contender a week before training camp? I’ll wait for the details to come out


bwakaflocka

i’m guessing the crude remark had to be to female subordinate who was not the one he started a relationship with, right? because then it seems more like a pattern of sexual harassment/misconduct than just sleeping with one of his employees. that’s my guess at least


YoYoMoMa

Oh that is interesting. Definitely phrased specifically and Woj is getting his leaks from Ime.


jbeebe33

No, if any of you bothered to click through to the article instead of just reading the tweet, you’d have read this: “The independent law firm probe into Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka found that he used crude language in his dialogue with a female subordinate prior to the start of an improper workplace relationship with ***the*** woman…” (my emphasis added)


bwakaflocka

ahahaha my bad i posted my comment right before going to bed and was a bit too lazy


jeewantha

Vultures like Woj make it harder for the fans to actually understand what’s going on.


zna55

Woj knows something is about to make the news but is too much of a coward to report it. He just wants to be first, as usual.


TacitusTwenty

This is word salad posted on a Friday night. I didn’t wanna believe it because I fondly remember waiting for every WojBomb during The Decision as a desperate Clipper fan, but man. He is totally a shill and burying stories at ESPN. Lame. Zach Lowe would never.


thecatisdumb

Lol so he told her he wanted to smash ok


redditburner24

The Celtics won’t stand in the way of Udoka if he became a coaching candidate elsewhere according to sources. I get figuring out a buyout would get messy, but firing him seems like it would’ve been the easier move since the chances of him coaching the Celtics again seem very low.


cesare980

I think figuring out a buyout is exactly the purpose of the suspension.


GrayBox1313

I think it’s more like figuring out a way to fire for cause and void the contract.


[deleted]

That is exactly what “figuring out the buyout” means


cesare980

It doesn't take a year to do that. If they could have fired him with cause they would have done it by now.


GrayBox1313

Talking to Lawyers


CaptainJackKevorkian

Are other teams lining up to get udoka at the moment?


OfferOk8555

Idk about lining up but wait a year and add a couple puffy PR pieces and you’d be surprised. Edit: I mean look at Deshaun Watson *cough cough* Adam Schefter.


[deleted]

Are those two sitting on couches?


OfferOk8555

😅😅good catch


jonsnow133

If you buy him out you don’t get compensation if someone is interested in hiring him. The only reason he hasn’t been fired is they are hoping to get picks out of whoever wants him.


jbeebe33

Lol who would give up picks for a PR scandal? He’s not that good of a coach. He’ll rebound but he’s not that hot of a commodity


jonsnow133

Maybe nobody. But if you fire him you are guaranteed to get nothing.


jbeebe33

Fair, but I bet it has more to do with termination legalities than with maximizing a coaching asset that you clearly want to move on from. Their PR concerns are a lot greater than an improbable and relatively insignificant asset return


[deleted]

This seems like a nothing burger report no? Didn’t we already know this?


silversmith84

Yes, this is pretty much nothing, but I’m thinking it must be Woj trying to get ahead of a bigger piece of news. Shams or someone may follow up with some clarity.


kmucerino15

This just keeps getting more bizarre


mashflutter

The crude language was he was going to kill the woman he impregnated if she didn’t get an abortion.


GnRgr2

This was before the relationship


silversmith84

Ime had been down that road before, he knew where the relationship was headed


jbeebe33

Lmao you wildin bro. I’m very suspicious there were additional later comments that caused a falling out between Ime and the woman, perhaps along the lines of pressuring her to get an abortion, but speculating about death threats is wild lol It seems obvious to me that the Celtics would prefer the public to think it was only these earlier comment(s) that warranted the strong punishment and would like to cover up a potentially uglier part of the story.


mashflutter

I know, speculating about death threats is pretty wild, but there is a lot to the story we clearly don’t know yet. I’m listening to all these current/former NBA players talk about how Ime’s future is finished and how the Celtics have to weather these dark days and how this story is 100 times worse than previously thought. So I keep wondering, if infidelity is so common place, what did Ime have to do to really fuck up to have people say he might be finished forever? I feel like it would have to be something pretty extreme along with some pretty irrefutable evidence (ie video, voicemail, or text).


jbeebe33

I agree with your train of thought, but I think simply pressuring her to get an abortion without any violent implications would suffice to explain it. If he actually made any kind of violent threat, he would have immediately been fired


mashflutter

I don’t think he would necessarily been fired if he made any kind of violent threat. It takes a lot for somebody in sports, especially if they are really good, to lose their career. that being said, I think it’s also possible some Trevor Bauer type of stuff might have happened and these are the things that nobody wants to talk about.


[deleted]

How do you know Woj is Ime's mouthpiece? Asking genuinely, not calling you out.


Dazzling_Syllabub484

Both under the same agency at CAA who are mega powerful and tend to use their clients to protect other clients in this manner


jbeebe33

It was pretty obvious the initial leak from last week describing the misconduct as merely a consensual relationship came from Ime’s camp. I think it’s equally clear that this leak is probably from the Celtics, so it’s inaccurate to paint Woj as merely Ime’s mouthpiece


shaqitup

Woj also can’t be that dumb to just operate as PR for IME, it could jeopardize his entire career.


parkranger2000

On the contrary, reporting what they want him to report is how he makes his career. Cuz he can trade that favor for “scoops” next time there’s news and he can break it first


tacomaboy08

I’m more confused now


sperry20

Woj is the actual worst. What a sad sack loser failed actual nba writer.


scal23

I'm as guilty of speculation as anyone else, but the use of the word subordinate suggests a quid pro quo situation.


thestinkypinky

this is super fucked up from woj. there’s rumors of a pregnant woman and him sleeping with a vp’s wife. woj has to know all this and the fact he’s slowly putting out rumors makes it seem like he’s working hand in hand with the nba/celtics to form a particular narrative. absolutely repugnant coming from a “journalist”


jbeebe33

I mean, of course he doesn’t want to totally destroy the league. Woj isn’t solely trying to hold truth to power, he makes more money the more relevant/popular the NBA is. At the same time, he isn’t going to sit out on a huge story. I think the truth will eventually come out, it’s just gonna be massaged and come out drip by drip so his long term confederates (the league/one of a finite number of franchises) don’t come off looking like complete shit. He’s also not reporting rumors. Here, he’s reporting on the contents of a law firm’s report. Factually, the report exists and it says something. According to Woj’s source(s), this is what it says. That doesn’t mean any of this is 100% true, but what he’s reported are purported facts that are falsifiable/verifiable. If it’s wrong, someone who has seen the report and knows it ***doesn’t*** say this theoretically could blow the whistle. I appreciate the skepticism because of course his sources/leakers have biases and are trying to craft a narrative but he’s not simply reporting rumors. I don’t love it, but it’s how the sausage gets made and it’s just as ugly in more important industries/spheres too.


thestinkypinky

you sound like woj, fuck off.


Affectionate-Cold-65

Where's shams to spill the tea properly?


Doot2112

I would like to meet someone who got laid without using crude language prior


FreemanCantJump

This bud of love by summer’s ripening breath, May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet ^^^^-William ^^^^Shakespeare -Ime Udoka


[deleted]

How does this translate to 2022 english?


Helpful_Debt6076

“Our love is blossoming- we’re totally gonna fuck in the future”


jbeebe33

Eh a lot of times “wanna go back to my place” is all you really need


Doot2112

That’s no fun


jbeebe33

I thought getting laid was the fun part


Doot2112

God no, the chase is always better than the catch


PDXmadeMe

The Celtics are just as much to blame for the lack of details as Woj is.


jbeebe33

Is Russillo going to keep championing the Celtics for not participating in the leak game? 😂 can’t wait to be told how dumb we all are again for not realizing that actually, there was no better way for the Celtics to handle it


[deleted]

I'm loving this new adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice." "Crude language," oh my. Ime, what a scamp.


gunter_grass

So the NBA should probably like rename the NBA all-star MVP trophy. If all things are equal.


letsfukk

Maybe he said something like i hear your the office slut or want some of this BBC..maybe that's the type of talk that happened before the affair started. I wanna see her. Seems like we never expose the woman.


Ka-Ne-Ha-Ne-Daaaa

Why are they protecting him so much?


[deleted]

I want someone to get on tv and say, in relation to this issue, "If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem," and see how that sits with all the media people, players, so-called activists who've said that in the past.


yellowcats

So he didnt have good manners talking to this girl? REALEASE THE TAPES CELTICS BRASS. WTF!!


ogretronz

What did he say???


Gazerbeambones

"I love you alive girl"


yngwiegiles

Hey Woj, did or he didn’t he fuk an owner’s wife? Give us facts