Things are getting ugly between Nia Long and her former partner, Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka. Long is asking for primary custody of their son after she claimed Udoka has not been supporting him.
Long’s Filing Allows For Udoka To Have Visitation
According to a court filing made in Los Angeles last week, Long is requesting a judge give her primary legal and physical custody of their 11-year-old son, Kez.
In the filing Long asked the judge to allow Udoka a reasonable opportunity to visit Kez to the extent “consistent with the child’s best interest.”
Udoka, then the Boston Celtics head coach, was relieved of his duties on the eve of training camp last season for having a sexual relationship with a female staffer, subordinate to him on the org chart.
In the year that has transpired since it wasn’t clear if Udoka and Long were going to split for good, but this filing suggests it’s over.
Udoka was rumored to be the next head coach of the Brooklyn Nets when Steve Nash was fired early last season. But the looming backlash gave Nets governor Joe Tsai pause.
Rockets Comfortable With Hiring Udoka
Once the Rockets fired Stephen Silas, Udoka’s name was at the top of their list. Upon his hiring, Rockets’ governor Tilman Fertitta expressed no hesitation in hiring him.
“The NBA told me that they felt very comfortable with Ime becoming the coach of the Houston Rockets,” Fertitta said during Udoka’s introductory news conference at the Toyota Center. “So that made me feel really good after a lengthy, lengthy conversation with him.”
Udoka released an apologetic statement in September and has undergone leadership and sensitivity training during his season away from the league.
“I’d say in general, like Tilman alluded to, they’ve done their due diligence and homework on who I am as a person,” Udoka said. “I think we spent quality time together getting to know each other and we clicked pretty easily and pretty well.
“But overall, I released a statement months ago when everything happened and apologized to a lot of people for the tough position I put them in, and I stand by that, and I feel much more remorse even now towards that. So, I spent this last offseason working on myself in a lot of different ways, improving in areas. It was a chance to sit back, reflect and grow, and I think that’ll make me a better coach and overall, a better leader.”
The Rockets open the regular season on Oct. 25 on the road at the Orlando Magic.
