Michigan Wolverines head coach Juwan Howard has made some questionable decisions in recent days. However, stepping onto the court to grab a live ball is nothing compared to slapping an opposing coach during a game, which is what happened on Sunday.
The No. 16 Wisconsin Badgers pulled away late against Michigan in what would end up being a 77-63 victory. Despite having a large lead with 15 seconds left, Wisconsin coach Greg Gard called a timeout, which seemed to upset Howard. The Michigan coach said something to Gard in the handshake line after the game and the two started exchanging words.
Things got heated as players and coaches from both teams came over as well. Eventually, Howard had apparently heard enough and he reached out and slapped one of the Badgers’ assistant coaches in the head before he was pulled away. However, things escalated from there and both sides engaged in a bit of a brawl.
It’s a terrible look for Howard, who is likely to face severe punishment for the incident. There’s little doubt that a suspension is in Howard’s future and it’s not outside the realm of possibility that he could lose his job over it. Hitting someone else is bad enough, but the head coach inciting a brawl between coaches and players is a whole other thing.
Michigan is coming off a 23-5 season in which they made it to the Elite Eight, but this season has been disappointing as the Wolverines are now 14-11 overall and 8-7 in Big Ten play.
Until we find out more about what was said what Michigan and the Big Ten will have to say about things, there is plenty of chatter on social media about the incident.
Calling that a “punch” by Juwan Howard seems not exactly right. But it’s still a serious hands-throwing directed at someone’s face in a public setting. The Big Ten even if just for appearances is not going to be cool with that
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) February 20, 2022
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.