Michigan's Juwan Howard suspended for remainder of regular season
Michigan head coach Juwan Howard has been suspended for the rest of the regular season after he hit Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft with an open right hand following the Badgers' 77-63 victory in Madison on Sunday.
Howard was also fined $40,000, while Michigan players Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams II were suspended for a game due to their role in the altercation.
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard was fined $10,000, and Badgers guard Jahcobi Neath was suspended for a game.
"Big Ten Conference coaches and student-athletes are expected to display the highest level of sportsmanship conduct," stated Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren 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."
The altercation occurred after Howard became upset when Wisconsin called a timeout in the closing seconds of a game the Badgers already had put out of reach.
After the game, Howard pointed a finger at Gard and a heated discussion ensued. Howard then reached through a crowd to get to Krabbenhoft, and players from each side got involved in the skirmish. Video appeared to show Diabate and Neath throwing punches.
Gard and Howard's dispute began with a minute remaining in the second half, as Michigan assumed an aggressive defense against the Badgers' backups. Gard called the defense a full-court press, but Howard disagreed and dubbed it "pressure defense, man-to-man."
Wisconsin took a timeout with 15 seconds remaining, which Michigan players and coaches took exception to, and Howard argued "wasn't fair to our guys." Wolverines center Hunter Dickinson added that the Michigan players didn't like how Wisconsin handled the ending of the game.
In the postgame meeting with Howard, Gard claims he attempted to initiate a handshake and explain his rationale behind the late timeout. Howard instead lowered his mask and began pointing at Gard.
"He started pointing at me and tapped me in the chest," Gard said. "I said: 'Hold on. Let me explain to you why I took the timeout.'"
Howard said he reacted after someone from Wisconsin put hands on him. Video showed Gard had his hands touching Howard’s arm or wrist area while trying to explain the reason for the timeout.
"I addressed with the head coach that I will remember that, because of the timeout," Howard said. "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. That’s what escalated it.
"I thought it was not necessary at the moment, especially being a large lead."
This isn’t Howard’s first high-profile incident with another Big Ten coach.
Last season, Howard got into a shouting match with then-Maryland coach Mark Turgeon during the conference tournament. Howard had to be restrained. He drew two technical fouls and was ejected from a game Michigan ended up winning 79-66.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
