University of Michigan men’s basketball coach Juwan Howard and Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard were involved in an intense altercation Sunday afternoon after the Wolverines lost to the Badgers.
Gard, as the Badgers had the game in hand with 15 seconds left, took a timeout which was met by frustration by Howard. After the game, Gard said he took the timeout so his Wisconsin players wouldn’t have to break a Michigan press. Following the game, Howard expressed his opinion on that and had words for Gard. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop there as Howard soon delivered a physical blow aimed at a Wisconsin assistant.
Howard was asked about the incident after the game and confirmed that it started because he did not like how Wisconsin called a timeout.
“I didn’t like the timeout being called, and to be totally honest I thought it was not necessary at that moment, especially with it being a large lead. I felt that wasn’t fair to our guys,” Howard told reporters, per ESPN, after Michigan’s 77-63 loss.
Howard went on to explain how Gard touching him during postgame handshakes caused the incident to escalate.
“Well, basically, I addressed the head coach (and said) that I will remember that, because of that timeout, and for someone to touch me, I think that was very uncalled for him to touch me as we were verbalizing and communicating with one another,” Howard told reporters. “So that’s what ended up happening. That’s what escalated it.”
Gard further explained his side of the story. He said the only reason he touched Howard was to try and get him to understand why he took the timeout.
“He said ‘I’ll remember that, I’ll remember that’ and I said ‘Let me tell you why I did what I did’ and he didn’t want any part of that and kept moving on,” Gard told reporters.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel called it “totally unacceptable behavior,” per The Athletic, and it’s likely Howard could face a suspension for the incident. The Big Ten Conference said it would review the matter and provide a “swift and appropriate disciplinary action.”
