Head coach Juwan Howard of the Michigan Wolverines directs his team during the first half in the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena on February 05, 2022 in West Lafayette, Indiana. Justin Casterline/Getty Images/AFP
Michigan coach Juwan Howard threw an open-hand punch that struck Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft during an altercation in the handshake line following the Badgers’ 77-63 win on Sunday in Madison, Wis.
Howard was upset about a Wisconsin timeout with 15 seconds left and got in a verbal exchange with Badgers coach Greg Gard near the Michigan bench after the game concluded. As security tried to intervene, both head coaches had hands on each other. Heated words were exchanged and others became involved before Howard delivered the right-handed punch to Krabbenhoft’s face.
Juwan Howard throws a punch. pic.twitter.com/HiC3y7yKvG
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) February 20, 2022
The altercation intensified after the punch with players from both teams also pushing each other and throwing punches.
Howard declined to apologize after the contest and said Gard touching him led to the escalation of the situation.
“I addressed with the head coach that I will remember that, because of that timeout,” Howard said. “For someone to touch me, I think that was very uncalled for to touch me while we were verbalizing and communicating with one another. That’s what ended up happening and that’s what escalated it.
“I did not like the timeout being called, I’ll be totally honest. I thought it was not necessary at that moment, especially it being a large lead.”
Gard said Howard expressed his dislike of the timeout during the interaction in the handshake line.
“Apparently he didn’t like that I called the timeout to reset the 10-second call, because we only had four seconds to get the ball over halfcourt,” Gard told CBS. “I didn’t want to put my backups — I had all my bench guys in the game — I didn’t want to put them in that position of scrambling with only four seconds. So I took a timeout and got us a new 10 seconds and it helped them get organized and get the ball in.
“And he did not like that when he came through the handshake line. I’ll leave it at that and the tape will show the rest.”
Fellow Wisconsin assistant Kyle Blackbourn appeared to be struck during the altercation as well. After the conclusion of the game, Blackbourn shared a photo of himself with a bloody mouth on Twitter, with the caption: “Thanks for coming out Michigan. #OnWisconsin”
The tweet was subsequently deleted.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said he apologized to Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh for Howard’s conduct.
“I am aware of and watched the end of our men’s basketball game,” Manuel said. “There is no excuse for any of our staff or student-athletes to get into a physical altercation with others regardless of instigating factors. I reached out and apologized to (Wisconsin athletic director) Chris McIntosh and (Michigan) President (Mary Sue) Coleman has reached out to UW Chancellor (Rebecca) Blank to apologize for the totally unacceptable behavior. We will review the situation more thoroughly and work with the Big Ten Conference as they determine their disciplinary actions and will determine if further disciplinary actions are needed.”
McIntosh said he spoke to Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren and expects that Howard will be disciplined.
“There is no place for conduct like that at any competition, much less a Big Ten competition,” McIntosh said.
“The Big Ten takes pride in sportsmanship, the Big Ten takes pride in acting with class, and that didn’t happen today. It’s unfortunate what transpired. I’ve been in contact with the league, I’ve spoken to the commissioner personally. I expect the league is going to act swiftly and aggressively. We’ve got staff that have been affected and injured, hit in the face.”
The Big Ten said it is reviewing the incident.
“The Big Ten Conference is aware of a physical altercation involving Michigan Head Coach Juwan Howard at the conclusion of the Michigan Wolverines and Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball game,” the statement began. “The conference is in contact with both member institutions and is currently assessing the incident. The conference will provide more information and will take swift and appropriate disciplinary action when it completes its review.”
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 has a 56-28 record, including a disappointing 14-11 mark this season. The Wolverines are 8-7 in Big Ten play.
Howard, 49, won multiple national coach of the year awards after the Wolverines went 23-5 last season and reached the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight before losing to UCLA.
Howard was a star player at Michigan and was part of the famed Fab Five along with Chris Webber and Jalen Rose. He also played 19 NBA seasons.