Following the altercation at the end of Sunday’s college basketball game between the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin, Wolverines coach Juwan Howard will reportedly be suspended.
Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports reported on Monday that Howard will be suspended for the remainder of the regular season.
The incident drew some strong reactions from the college basketball world. The reactions to his suspension were varied. Several people felt the suspension was appropriate.
The right move by Michigan. He’ll miss the next two weeks but will be back for the Big Ten Tournament https://t.co/BxwYWUsoFu
— Brian Rauf (@brauf33) February 21, 2022
Seems fair. More info coming shortly. https://t.co/3x0WiH80fE
— Jamal Spencer (@JamalSpencerTV) February 21, 2022
this is fair https://t.co/xvuPSIXRds
— Joel Lorenzi (@jxlorenzi) February 21, 2022
Fair. Glad he wasn't fired. https://t.co/5OFRNzZrAB
— very clever name (@woodjt5) February 21, 2022
On the high side of what I was expecting but seems appropriate. https://t.co/9rspw7vWR8
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) February 21, 2022
That was not a consensus opinion, however. Others felt that Howard’s suspension was not sufficient.
LOL…. WEAKSAUCE https://t.co/wEcdxIKehj
— NDirishWonder (@NDirishWonder) February 21, 2022
Insufficient but it’s a start. https://t.co/M2Qv7trPlV
— SCweet_Trojan (@SCweet_Trojan) February 21, 2022
There was another group of people who didn’t agree with the suspension. Others who saw what happened felt that Howard shouldn’t be punished — at least not until Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard was also punished for his role.
In solidarity with Juwan i too will be suspending myself from Michigan men’s basketball. Standing with my coach. https://t.co/FRQRCutRy7
— Coach Boon (@slimshadyschoon) February 21, 2022
I don’t know. Slapping someone from Wisconsin is laudable if you ask me. https://t.co/dcsK0bMOZp
— Mitch Billings (@minnesotamitch) February 21, 2022
How about @BadgerMBB coach now? Home dude started get that man out of the picture too https://t.co/Xm1QNBWoXa
— Chicago Bears Fan Page (@CHIfan320) February 21, 2022
Gard should also be disciplined. The incident escalated when he grabbed a clearly upset Howard in the postgame handshake line. Had that not happened, there’s very likely no altercation at all. As much as “he started it” is an argument that should be left on second grade playgrounds, that can’t be ignored.
That said, people who are expecting Gard’s discipline to match or exceed Howard’s will probably be disappointed. He escalated the incident, but Howard is the one who threw the first punch. And he did so several seconds after Gard’s contact and when multiple people were between Howard and Gard, as well as a Wisconsin assistant he hit. If Howard ever was worried about his safety, he had no reason to be when he threw his punch.
So, while Gard will likely incur some discipline, it won’t be close to what Howard got.
There is one other pending (or potentially pending) matter that lingers. Michigan and Wisconsin do not play each other again in the regular season. But a Big Ten Tournament matchup is a possibility. If that happens, Howard would be back on the sideline.
This is something people want to see.
Howard reportedly out for Sunday’s game vs. #illini
Would leave open possibility of Wisconsin-Michigan rematch in Big Ten Tournament with Howard on the sideline https://t.co/Hs661nEAZZ
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) February 21, 2022
Man can we get a Michigan Wisconsin rematch in the BTT #spicy
— Michael Pruitt (@mpruitt6188) February 21, 2022
B10 needs to fix the rest of the regular season to ensure Michigan and Wisconsin rematch in the B10 tourney. Then Mic’ up both head coaches
— Jack Kwiat
(@3Kwiat) February 21, 2022
That would indeed be appointment viewing television.