Michigan head coach Juwan Howard has been suspended for the rest of the regular season after throwing an open-fisted punch during the handshake line following Sunday's Michigan vs. Wisconsin game, the Big Ten announced Monday.
Howard will miss five games in total, including the Wolverines’ regular-season finale in Columbus against Ohio State. Michigan associate head coach Phil Martelli, who was previously the head coach at St. Joseph’s from 1995-2019, will serve as acting head coach during Howard’s suspension.
Tensions flared in the handshake line at the end of Sunday's game in Madison. Howard took exception to a late Wisconsin timeout leading to an altercation with Badger head coach Greg Gard. Following that heated exchange, Howard threw an open-fisted punch at Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft, setting off a melee between the two teams.
Juwan Howard took offense to a late timeout from Wisconsin and took a swing in the handshake line, chaos ensues pic.twitter.com/dk4hnkTscP
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) February 20, 2022
Here's really good raw video of the aftermath of #Michigan and #Wisconsin. You can clearly hear Juwan Howard say "I'll remember that" to Greg Gard prior to the altercation.
— Jeanna Trotman (@JeannaTrotmanTV) February 20, 2022
(Video courtesy of WKOW. Caution unedited, NSFW language.) pic.twitter.com/27N2q1OD8I
In his postgame press conference, Howard said he did not like that Wisconsin called timeout with 15 seconds left up 15 points and said he felt the need to protect himself after being unnecessarily touched in the handshake line.
Here's Juwan Howard's side to the story.
— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) February 20, 2022
Added later that he felt he needed to protect himself, because Greg Gard touched him unnecessarily in the handshake line after he had gotten upset.#Badgers pic.twitter.com/hFWrEtBv1v
Juwan Howard's said he didn't appreciate the #Badgers calling a late timeout even though he was pressing with his starters against UW's bench. pic.twitter.com/mz2gUL7qO8
— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) February 20, 2022
Gard said he called the timeout to give his team a fresh 10 seconds to get the ball across half court, and tried to explain that to Howard after Howard, during the handshake line, told him he would “remember that shit.”
Here's how Greg Gard described the incident with Juwan Howard. #Badgers pic.twitter.com/3RbwBDQvmd
— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) February 20, 2022
This isn’t the first time Howard has let his emotions get the best of him as Michigan’s head coach, as he was ejected from a game last season after allegedly saying “I’ll fucking kill you” to then-Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon during an on-court altercation.
Here is the full sequence that led to Michigan head coach Juwan Howard being ejected during the last media timeout. pic.twitter.com/iN5H6ea6bc
— Wesley Brown (@W_Brown21) March 12, 2021
Michigan forwards Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams II and Wisconsin guard Jahcobi Neath were also each suspended one game by the Big Ten for their roles in the ensuing brawl. Howard was fined $40,000 in addition to his suspension, while Gard was fined $10,000.
“Big Ten Conference coaches and student-athletes are expected to display the highest level of sportsmanship conduct,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said in a statement. “Our expectation is that the incident yesterday will provide our coaches and student-athletes with the opportunity to reflect, learn and move forward in a manner that demonstrates decorum and leadership on and off of the court.”
Howard issued an apology for his actions in a statement released by Michigan on Monday night.
"After taking time to reflect on all that happened, I realize how unacceptable both my actions and words were, and how they affected so many. I am truly sorry."
"I am offering my sincerest apology to my players and their families, my staff, my family and the Michigan fans around the world. I would like to personally apologize to Wisconsin's Assistant Coach Joel Krabbenhoft and his family, too."
"Lastly, I speak a lot about being a Michigan man and representing the University of Michigan with class and pride, I did not do that, nor did I set the right example in the right way for my student-athletes. I will learn from my mistake and this mistake will never happen again. No excuses!”
Source: @DanWetzel
