Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla withdraws from Life Surge event after allegations

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has withdrawn from an October 17 speaking appearance at a Life Surge conference in Hartford and says he has ended his relationship with the organization. In a Saturday interview with the Boston Globe, Mazzulla said he had told Life Surge he would not attend and had asked it to remove his image from its website.

Mazzulla spoke at one of the group’s events in Portland, Maine, last September. He told the Globe that Life Surge first approached his representatives at Creative Artists Agency. His decision followed a September 24 investigation by Pablo Torre Finds Out and Mother Jones into allegations about Life Surge’s sales practices at its faith-based financial conferences. The investigation described complaints from attendees about pressure to buy costly training and financing for those purchases. Life Surge denies using faith to pressure customers and says enrollment in its programs is voluntary. Torre published the company’s response in full.

Mazzulla said the allegations prompted him to back out of the Hartford event. He told the Globe that he hopes people who may have been harmed can get the guidance they need. He also said he intends to keep using his platform to discuss his faith. The Globe reported that the Hartford event had continued to list him as a headliner before his withdrawal.

Torre subsequently shared the Globe’s follow-up on X, crediting reporter Adam Himmelsbach for obtaining Mazzulla’s account. The development is Mazzulla’s withdrawal from a planned appearance; the accusations against Life Surge remain allegations, which the company disputes.