Juwan Howard swing sparks wild Michigan-Wisconsin basketball brawl
A late timeout taken in a Big Ten basketball game already in hand Sunday led to a brawl between Michigan and No. 15 Wisconsin that was escalated by Juwan Howard taking a swing at an opposing assistant coach.
The Michigan coach, infuriated by counterpart Greg Gard taking a timeout with his team up 15 points and only 15 seconds left, let him know about it in the handshake line, leading to fireworks between the teams after Wisconsin’s 77-63 victory. As they exchanged words, Gard stepped in front of Howard to get his point across: He had used the timeout to reset the 10-second half-court clock.
A video posted on Twitter captured Howard telling Gard he would “remember this,” followed by Gard trying to explain himself, and Howard saying multiple times, “Don’t f–king touch me.”
The two were separated, but Howard, the former NBA player and Michigan star during the Fab Five era, returned to the fray and landed an open-handed blow to the face of Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft. At that point, multiple players — believed to be Michigan’s Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams and Wisconson’s Jahcobi Neath — appeared to throw punches in the ugly incident.
“I am aware of and watched the end of our men’s basketball game. There is no excuse for any of our staff or student-athletes to get into a physical altercation with others regardless of instigating factors. I reached out and apologized to [Wisconsin athletic director] Chris McIntosh and President [Mary Sue] Coleman has reached out to UW Chancellor Blank to apologize for the totally unacceptable behavior,” Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement. “We will review the situation more thoroughly and work with the Big Ten Conference as they determine their disciplinary actions and will determine if further disciplinary actions are warranted.”
That statement was more than the Big Ten was willing to say. In its statement, the conference only said it is assessing the situation and would deliver “swift and appropriate disciplinary action when it completes its review.”
(Warning: Explicit Language)
Afterwards, Howard did not apologize for his role in the skirmish. He said he felt the “need to defend himself,” after someone made contact with him, but was not happy that the events unfolded as they did.
“Someone touched me, and I think it was very uncalled for, for them to touch me, as we were verbalizing and communicating with one another,” Howard said. “That’s what escalated it.”
When asked if he expected to be suspended, Howard said: “It’s up to [the Big Ten] and I will respect whatever decision they end up making.”
This wasn’t Howard’s first incident since taking over at Michigan three years ago. During last year’s Big Ten Tournament, he was ejected after getting into a shouting match with Maryland coach Mark Turgeon and needed to be restrained by his assistant coaches.
“There’s no room, no space for conduct like that in any competition, much less a Big Ten competition,” McIntosh told reporters. “The Big Ten takes pride in sportsmanship. The Big Ten takes pride in acting with class. That didn’t happen today.’’
