Stephen A. Smith reacts to Juwan Howard throwing punch, possible firing

Stephen A. Smith is disappointed in the actions of Michigan coach Juwan Howard. On ESPN’s First Take on Monday, Smith passionately responded to Howard throwing a punch after the buzzer against Wisconsin, and the possibility the Michigan coach could be fired.

“I’m not going to go that far,” Smith stated, responding to the question of whether Howard should be fired. “I’ve got too much respect for Juwan Howard, and the man, the player and the coach that he has been. I’ve got a lot of love for this brother. It’s going to be very difficult for me to go to that point.

“I will say this, he should be suspended immediately. It should be for the rest of the season. I’m talking about the rest of the regular season. The conference tournament. If they were fortunate enough to get to the NCAA Tournament, that too. He should not be allowed to coach another game this season. If he ends up avoiding getting fired, he would be a very lucky individual.

“I’m of the opinion it’s entirely possible Juwan Howard is going to be fired within the next 24 hours. I don’t think we can rule that out.”

While Stephen A. Smith wouldn’t fire Juwan Howard, he understands the Michigan coach has a large hole he has to climb out of following his actions.

Stephen A. Smith on Juwan Howard: ‘He should not be allowed to coach for the rest of the season.’

Moreover, Stephen A. Smith refused to excuse Juwan Howard for his actions.

“The biggest culprit here, unfortunately, is Juwan Howard,” stated Smith. “His actions were inexcusable. You swung at the assistant coach. Swung at him. Through people that were in-front of y’all. I don’t even know if that assistant coach touched you, but you touched him. You threw a punch, and you started a damn-near brawl. It was instigated by the head coach of a national program.

“How could you possible excuse that? When you’re supposed to be a leader of men. How could you possibly excuse that, when you’re the one that’s supposed to be setting the example? Juwan Howard failed miserably in that regard. And then to go in the post-game conference, show no contrition or remorse whatsoever.”

Finally, Smith wrapped it all up, stating the bottom line is if Howard doesn’t throw the punch, nothing ensues.

“In the end, it comes down to, If Juwan Howard doesn’t throw the punch, none of this happens,” stated Howard. “You can not be the head coach of the program and do something like that. He should not be allowed to coach for the rest of the season.”