What they're saying about the Juwan Howard-Greg Gard confrontation
The Juwan Howard and Greg Gard fracas on Sunday afternoon in Madison has drawn plenty of strong opinions. Suspensions are coming for both Michigan and Wisconsin with the Big Ten saying it will act swiftly to levy its punishment. Given Howard’s role, Michigan is also exploring the possibility for additional punishment that extends beyond what the conference hands down.
RELATED: Michigan basketball season on the ropes, not just due to loss at Wisconsin
The aftermath of the ordeal has brought in takes from all over the basketball world and media landscape. Here is a sampling of what is being said across the country.
ESPN’s Jay Bilas on Monday morning’s ‘Get Up’
“Well, it was disappointing. To see two coaches get in a fight in the handshake line after a game is profoundly disappointing. Usually, it’s the administrators and the coaches who are waving their finger at the players to show decorum and act the right way. When the coaches can’t do it, it’s disappointing.
“It’s also disappointing that people are talking about, ‘Well, this guy pressed’ or ‘This guy called a timeout’ — So what? None of that matters. The game was over. If we can’t act the right way in the handshake line, and then can’t take the right tone in the press conferences afterward, I don’t know what. It’s really disappointing.”
“If you’re talking about sanctions, the first thing I would look at is what do they do with players? It shouldn’t be any less than a player would get for something similar,” stated Bilas. “There are differing levels of culpability here, and Juwan Howard being the most culpable for the fact that he threw an open-handed punch, or slap, whatever you want to call it. But there are different levels of culpability here.
“And what I’m saying is, no one that we’re talking about as being involved is blameless. One of the first questions I would’ve asked in the press conference is, ‘Do you feel that your words and actions, are you proud of them? Do you feel they were appropriate under the circumstances?’ Because I’d like to hear the answers from each one of those involved. But I don’t think it should be any less for a player, when we expect the coaches to set the standard, the example.”
ESPN’S Seth Greenberg also weighed in on ‘Get Up’
“When those two guys cross, that’s what you call a blow-by. Howard didn’t want to deal with Greg Gard. Greg Gard’s got to respect that. On the other hand, obviously cause and effect of what happened after is totally unacceptable. I’ve given a lot of thought to this, Greeny, and I told my daughter, ‘Maybe we should get rid of the handshake lines. … How about we just ask appropriately? How about we lead as opposed to follow and set an example?
“What happened yesterday was unacceptable, it was embarrassing to both institutions and obviously escalated to the point where people were in danger. We just set a really bad example.”
Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball’s Juwan Howard defended his pride in ugly scene, must pay for actions
He sets the example. He knows that. In a moment of anger, he forgot that.
That’s disappointing. More disappointing is that Howard doubled down during his interview after the game and blamed the fracas on Gard, instead of saying he was wrong to take a swing and he knows better and that, in that moment, he let his emotions get to him and that’s the wrong example for his players.
But he didn’t. He said this:
“Touching me unnecessarily when it wasn’t called for that, when we’re talking. At that point, you know, I thought that was time to protect myself.”
He’s right that Gard was wrong to touch him. Gard should get a suspension for that.
But protect himself?
That would be understandable if he’d taken the swing at Gard. But Gard was several feet away when Howard swung at Krabbenhoft. It was also almost 15 seconds later.
The only thing Howard was protecting at that point was his pride, and his sense of self-respect. A human inclination, to be sure. But an inclination that the basketball coach at the University of Michigan has to bury quickly.
Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News: Michigan’s Juwan Howard swings madly, and it will cost him plenty
Howard should be suspended for multiple games, at least. If Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren only has the authority to sideline him for two games, UM AD Warde Manuel will have to consider adding more. Manuel released a statement Sunday acknowledging Michigan’s culpability for “the totally unacceptable behavior.” He said he apologized to Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh, and added that Michigan interim President Mary Sue Coleman had reached out to Wisconsin Chancellor Rebecca Blank.
When the presidents are involved, you can expect severe repercussions. And there should be. Manuel said he’ll work with the Big Ten to review it, and I imagine it will be resolved quickly. No, this doesn’t have to wreck Howard’s career. If he learns from it, it won’t. It certainly could wreck Michigan’s season.
The trickle-down damages might be crushing, with Michigan (14-11, 8-7 Big Ten) struggling to stay in NCAA Tournament contention. Players were seen throwing punches in the skirmish, notably Michigan’s Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams II, and they should be punished, too. If examination of the tape finds Wisconsin players engaged in the same behavior, they’re also culpable.
Competitive passion is one thing, and Howard has used it to win a lot of games in his basketball career, as a player and coach (56-28 in his third season at UM with one Big Ten title). But when it rises to out-of-control anger, it has to stop. Howard was involved in a similar incident in the Big Ten tournament last year, when he yelled and gestured at Maryland coach Mark Turgeon during a timeout midway through the second half. Howard was ejected and later apologized.
More recently, he received technical fouls in consecutive games against Ohio State and Iowa.
Brian Hamilton of The Athletic: Juwan Howard’s job at Michigan should be in jeopardy after embarrassing display
Juwan Howard probably won’t be fired for what he did Sunday. Because he’s Juwan Howard, and because of what Juwan Howard’s name means to Michigan athletics in general, and because bureaucrats who run athletic departments and universities don’t like to make really hard decisions. Especially not in the cases of very popular head coaches whose programs win and bring millions of dollars into the mix. We usually get a lot of creative deflection and excuse-making in these scenarios. Maybe a cynical play to the emotions of the fan base. Semantics and lawyering, but not a severance package.
But Juwan Howard absolutely should be fired for what he did and said Sunday, if only because he doesn’t seem to grasp that the head men’s basketball coach at Michigan shouldn’t act like a child. Emotions run high in February, everywhere. Things are said and done, and competitive people get really mad about them, just about every game. But Michigan’s coach is the one who throws a tantrum after someone grabs his arm and says mean words. Who takes two steps back before reengaging an escalating situation by taking a swing at an opposing coach’s face, who instigates a brawl, who has to be restrained by a police officer and subsequently has the gall to brush off embarrassing himself, his program and his employer by claiming self-defense.
Matt Norlander, CBS Sports: Michigan vs. Wisconsin fight: Juwan Howard hardly only party to blame for overshadowing sport’s big weekend
It could have been worse. Michigan players Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams can be seen throwing hands. The same is true of Wisconsin’s Jahcobi Neath. They’ll all likely be suspended. A Wisconsin staffer took the moment to execute an emphatic — perhaps to the point of being practiced in many a mirror over the years — a D-Generation X “crotch chop” that will go down in program lore.
For Howard to react the way he did was alarming but not without precedent. He had to be restrained from going after Maryland coach Mark Turgeon during last year’s Big Ten Tournament. He was not suspended for that. For this, he will be. Multiple games. If it’s for the remainder of the season, that would be appropriate.
Some are calling for Howard to be fired. The Michigan administration can do whatever it pleases, but that would likely be a step too far. Howard doesn’t need or deserve to be fired what he did. Another incident like this, and sure, he would probably have to go. Two confrontations in two years is short of a trend, but it’s also not a good sign. The university, the sport cannot have this again.
Two things can be true at once. It’s fair to say that if Howard did not go after Krabbenhoft, the situation would not have turned into the biggest news story in sports on a Sunday that also included the NBA All-Star Game, Daytona 500 and Genesis Invitational. It’s also inaccurate to put all the fault for the fight solely on Howard.
If the Big Ten handles this as it should, the punishments and blame will not lay solely at Howard’s feet.
