Nia Long Calls Out Celtics for Handling of Udoka Scandal

If you know anything about Black movies from the 90s, you already know what Nia Long has done for the culture. From Boyz ‘N The Hood, to The Best Man franchise, to my personal favorite, Love Jones, she’s given us so many iconic characters. “I’m just super Black, so anything that we’re doing, if I matter to us, then I know that I’m living in alignment with my purpose,” Long said in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

But as she looks to the future, Long says she’s hitting the reset button. “2023 is like the year of new beginnings for me,” she says. “I couldn’t be more excited.”

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For starters, she and sons, Massai, 22, and Kez, 11 are relocating from Boston to LA, in the wake of the highly-publicized scandal involving Kez’ father, Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka. Udoka was suspended from the team for the 2022-2023 season when accusations swirled of an improper relationship with another female member of the Celtics organization.

But like any Black mama, when the Celtics shared the news of Udoka’s suspension in a press conference, Long’s first concern was how her son would handle the news.

“I went home to be with my son, and that was what was most important to me, because he was not having an easy time,” she said.

And as she told The Hollywood Reporter, Long was not happy with the way the Celtics handled the situation.

“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 said. “It was devastating, and it still is. He still has moments where it’s not easy for him. 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.”

But while the Celtics didn’t check in on Long, plenty of fans across social media did express their support for the actress.

Lucky for us, fans will get to see a lot more of Long in 2023, including a comedy, You People with Eddie Murphy, Jonah Hill and Julia Louis-Dreyfus written by Hill and Black-ish creator Kenya Barris. “I’ve been wanting to work with Eddie Murphy my entire life and I’ve never gotten the job,” Long says.

But when asked about a Love Jones reboot, she says some things are better left in the past. “I think one of the things that made that film so beautiful was that we were both so young, and there was just this unfiltered approach to the work,” she says. “I would hate to disappoint anyone by trying to redo it or add another installment, and then it just not be good.”

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