USA Today via Reuters
Mar 13, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Juwan Howard signals from the bench in the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first half at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Mar 13, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Juwan Howard signals from the bench in the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first half at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
NBA Legend Juwan Howard was in the news for all the wrong reasons on Sunday. At the end of the match, in which the Michigan Wolverines lost to the Wisconsin Badgers, Howard threw a punch at an assistant coach and ignited an all-team brawl.
Michigan lost to Wisconsin 77-63, and at the end of the game, where both head coaches had to shake hands, Howard confronted opposition coach Greg Gard about a play. Gard didn’t like what Howard had to say, and he appeared to confront back and he held Howard’s hand. Things started getting heated, as they had to be separated by their teams. And in the process, another Wisconsin coach started shouting at Howard. In response to that, Howard threw a punch at him.
Juwan Howard throws a punch. pic.twitter.com/HiC3y7yKvG
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) February 20, 2022
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That ignited a brawl and players and coaches started pushing each other. Security tried their best to contain the fight, but it was soon apparent that it went out of hand. Players were all over the court and they started throwing punches. After a short while, the situation calmed down, and both teams were separated.
What ignited the NBA Legend to start a brawl
Basically, Howard went to talk to the head coach about a timeout call. He said that he felt the timeout wasn’t required with such a big lead and it wasn’t fair to his guys. He said, “Basically, I addressed with the head coach that I would remember that because of that timeout.”
Here's Juwan Howard's side to the story.
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
— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) February 20, 2022
But Howard says he felt it was unnecessary for a head coach to touch him. He adds, “For someone to touch me, I think that was very uncalled for him to touch me as we were verbalizing and communicating with one another. So that’s what ended up happening, that’s what escalated it.”
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USA Today via Reuters
Dec 31, 2020; College Park, MD, USA; Michigan head coach Juwan Howard reacts during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Maryland, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020, in College Park, Md. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wass/Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports
This was an ugly incident and the NCAA will look to find the culprits responsible for it. There have been several calls for Julian Howard to be suspended for the rest of the season and other perpetrators to be punished as well.
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The University of Michigan has already apologized for the incident and has said it will award disciplinary actions to the responsible people. Howard was a two-time NBA champion with the Miami Heat. And it’s not acceptable for anyone to behave this way, let alone a champion. This does not leave a good look on Juwan Howard or Michigan University or the NCAA.
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