Michigan suspended men’s basketball coach Juwan Howard on Monday for the remaining five games of the regular season and fined him $40,000 for throwing an open-hand punch during a postgame altercation against Wisconsin.
Howard, 49, will miss the Wolverines’ four home games against Rutgers, No. 15 Illinois, Michigan State and No. 25 Iowa and the regular-season finale at No. 22 Ohio State. He will be allowed to return for the postseason, starting with the Big Ten Tournament.
Three players received one-game suspensions for their roles in the fight: Terrance Williams II and Moussa Diabate of Michigan and Jahcobi Neath of Wisconsin. Badgers coach Greg Gard was fined $10,000 but not suspended.
In a news release, the Big Ten Conference said both coaches violated the league’s policy on sportsmanship.
“Big Ten Conference coaches and student-athletes are expected to display the highest level of sportsmanship conduct,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said in a statement. “I am grateful for the partnership with Michigan Athletics Director Warde Manuel and Wisconsin Athletics Director Chris McIntosh. Our expectation is that the incident yesterday will provide our coaches and student-athletes with the opportunity to reflect, learn and move forward in a manner that demonstrates decorum and leadership on and off of the court.”
According to the conference, Manuel “proactively addressed a five-game suspension” with Warren, and the commissioner agreed with the level of discipline.
Howard was upset about a timeout Wisconsin called with 15 seconds left and got in a verbal exchange with Gard near the Michigan bench in Sunday’s 77-63 loss to Wisconsin in Madison, Wis. In the handshake line, Howard could be heard telling Gard, “I’ll remember that,” and Gard stopped Howard from walking away in an attempt to respond.
As security tried to intervene, both head coaches had hands on each other and others became involved before Howard delivered the right-handed punch to Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft’s face. The altercation intensified after the punch, with players from both teams also pushing each other and throwing punches.
Howard initially declined to apologize after the contest, saying that Gard escalated the situation by touching him. However, Howard issued an apology for his actions later Monday night.
“After taking time to reflect on all that happened, I realize how unacceptable both my actions and words were, and how they affected so many. I am truly sorry,” Howard said. “I am offering my sincerest apology to my players and their families, my staff, my family and the Michigan fans around the world. I would like to personally apologize to Wisconsin’s assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft and his family, too.
“Lastly, I speak a lot about being a Michigan man and representing the University of Michigan with class and pride. I did not do that, nor did I set the right example in the right way for my student-athletes. I will learn from my mistake and this mistake will never happen again. No excuses!”
Manuel said in a statement that his department’s disciplinary actions “underscore the seriousness” of Howard’s behavior.
“Simply put, there is no room at U-M for the behavior we saw,” Manuel said. “We will learn from this incident as a department, work to improve ourselves while operating under a spotlight, and move forward in a positive light.”
Last March, Howard had to be restrained during the second half of a Big Ten tourney game against Maryland after getting into a verbal disagreement with then-Terrapins coach Mark Turgeon. Howard was ejected.
Howard is in his third season as Michigan coach. He won multiple national coach of the year awards last season after the Wolverines went 23-5 and reached the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight before losing to UCLA.
Michigan (14-11, 8-7 Big Ten) is trying to secure an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
–Field Level Media
