Kendrick Perkins reacts to Juwan Howard throwing punch, calls out Greg Gard

Kendrick Perkins believes there’s more to the story than Juwan Howard being the villain for throwing a punch at the end of Michigan’s loss to Wisconsin. While Perkins believes Howard isn’t blameless, he’s calling out Wisconsin coach Greg Gard for the role he played.

“He should get some type of penalty. Juwan Howard should get suspended, but he shouldn’t get fired,” stated Perkins, via First Take on ESPN. “Greg Gard played a huge role in this in being petty. He knew what he was doing calling that timeout.

“(Gard) knew going to Wisconsin — that crowd was already rocking, it was a hostile environment — he knew what he was doing. And by the way, when they were in the handshake line, Juwan Howard was actually trying to walk passed him. Not even trying to talk to him. When a grown man tells you don’t put your hands on me, don’t put your hands on him.

“That’s what escalated the whole thing. By that time, he had already lost his cool. You could see right there at the end of the game.”

While many are blaming Howard for his actions, Perkins is taking a different route — going after Gard.

Kendrick Perkins: ‘Let’s not let Greg Gard off the hook.’

Moreover, Perkins continued — stating that Gard showed no accountability, as well.

“Then Greg Gard, he goes into the post-game interview, and he’s still saying, he’s not showing no type of accountability as well, when he knew what he was doing,” stated Perkins. “He threw the line out there in the water, he had the shrimp on the hook, he set his reel and Juwan Howard took the bait. It’s instigating at it’s finest.

“He know that Juwan Howard was mad, why even go over, trying to talk to the man? Now, I’m not saying that Juwan Howard was right. He should never throw a punch. He is a leader of men, he has to lead by example. We’re talking about a guy who had a helluva NBA career. A Michigan legend. Fab Five. All that and across the board. But both of these guys played a part in this.

“Let’s not let Greg Gard off the hook. He played a huge role in instigating, and being petty as well.”

While Juwan Howard has received immense backlash, Kendrick Perkins doesn’t want to see Greg Gard get off the hook clean for his actions on Sunday.