Does Howard Survive This?
He's had plenty of issues before keeping his anger in check, but you CAN NOT throw a punch at an opposing coach/player as the frickin' head coach. Just utter lunacy, never seen it.
Minimum I have to imagine he's suspended for rest of year.
Do we think he gets fired?
February 20th, 2022 at 5:56 PM ^
Surprised he only had 1 person threaten him.
February 20th, 2022 at 9:22 PM ^
Good call, Brian Griese - I forgot about that one. Man, those eyes.
February 20th, 2022 at 9:26 PM ^
Double post. Again, John Chaney could look very menacing.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:15 PM ^
Fire him before the sun sets. No excuse for that.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:54 PM ^
Classic knee-jerk reaction without getting both sides of the story. I don't know what happened, but what if hypothetically the assistant coach used a racial slur?
February 20th, 2022 at 4:20 PM ^
None of that really matters. He's the Head Coach. He sets the example, and his example in this case is one of incredibly poor sportsmanship. He failed his players, the basketball program, and the University. I think he needs to step down.
February 20th, 2022 at 4:33 PM ^
There is no reason to suggest that unless there is evidence of it. Suggesting it is awful.
February 20th, 2022 at 6:48 PM ^
Seriously. What a dumb fucking comment.
February 20th, 2022 at 7:32 PM ^
My mother always taught us "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."
Anyone who thinks physical violence should be the reaction for someone calling names is immature and should seek counseling.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:16 PM ^
If Woody Hayes got fired........?????
February 20th, 2022 at 4:11 PM ^
He hit a defenseless player without provocation. Don't be thick.
February 20th, 2022 at 4:43 PM ^
Was the coach he hit defenseless??? I don't know......
Did the coach he hit have a helmet and shoulder pads on???
February 20th, 2022 at 7:45 PM ^
How was the Clemson player defenseless, and how was the coach of Wisconsin not defenseless? I am not seeing your line of thought.
February 20th, 2022 at 4:11 PM ^
Woody punched a student who simply made a play. Juwan lost his cool during an altercation.
He may still get fired, but context matters
February 20th, 2022 at 3:17 PM ^
Im sure hes done for the rest of the season. Stupid thing to do, but damn wisconsins couch came at him.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:46 PM ^
Yeah, I’ve been in hundreds of post game handshake lines and I’ve never seen someone pull some out of the line like Wisconis coach did to Howard. I’m not saying he’s right, but I would have a hard time staying calm if someone just did that me. Especially right after a road game where your team had a chance to win if they didn’t shoot like ass in the in the second half
February 20th, 2022 at 4:03 PM ^
Gard absolutely deserves some blame here. Juwan is walking away from him, disrespectful sure, but all in all not bad. Gard grabs him and escalates the situation. Totally uncalled for and he deserves a suspension. As does Juwan of course. The assistant Juwan hit deserves to be fired for pushing and shoving 2 Michigan players prior to the scuffle. But that won’t get takes about.
February 20th, 2022 at 5:59 PM ^
Gard did grab him when Juwan was trying to walk past. It still doesn’t justify that reaction from a 50 year old man. This just sucks all around. I hope that Juwan isn’t fired for this.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:18 PM ^
He's done. No way he survives this.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:18 PM ^
It's a bad scene from Juwan (who I love) so suspension is warranted, but I will say Gard shouldn't have grabbed his arm and put his finger in his chest. Nobody has a right to touch anybody. That said, it is a very bad look.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:18 PM ^
Yeah that was super ugly, only the most rosy-colored glasses wearing UofM fan would defend Howard there.
Suspension for sure, for how long who knows. NCAA will likely issue their own, Michigan will have to discipline as well.
Can't start a brawl and slap assistants in line because you didn't like a timeout. That's not professional at all.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:39 PM ^
Slow the video down and watch it. Gard’s contact with his arm is much closer to casual than “grabbing”. Howard then grabs his shirt…the notion that “the other guy started it” isn’t going to fly.
February 20th, 2022 at 5:41 PM ^
I slowed the video down. Juwan is a pretty big dude and Gard grabs him enough to turn Juwan’s body. Casual to me wouldn’t turn his body.
I don’t think Juwan should have done what he did but I am going to call out the BS like “casual” when I see it.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:41 PM ^
Don’t worry that Blueprint Jay dude is trying his hardest. Him and Don Thomas complete weirdos
February 20th, 2022 at 3:19 PM ^
It's a bad scene from Juwan (who I love) so suspension is warranted, but I will say Gard shouldn't have grabbed his arm and put his finger in his chest. Nobody has a right to touch anybody. That said, it is a very bad look.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:19 PM ^
Gonna be tough to walk into recruits living rooms after that.
February 20th, 2022 at 4:07 PM ^
Parents won’t like that tape one bit.
February 20th, 2022 at 5:49 PM ^
Some parents won’t and some parents will. Not going to move the needle. An adult assistant coach was grabbing one of his players and he defended his players. I think a lot of parents will like that. I would.
February 20th, 2022 at 5:29 PM ^
Rick Pitino is out recruiting, and he screwed a woman underneath a table in an Italian restaurant.
Something tells me that this will be filed if it is handled the right way by those involved.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:19 PM ^
No idea but I think so if he doesn't pour more gasoline on it
I just remember thinking "he better get in the handshake line, not a good look"
On second thought, I wish he hadn't gotten in the handshake line
He gets way too overheated. I actually relate to it personally, but that's why I can never be in an important leadership position. In his situation he's going to have to deal with asses like Gard all the time and you gotta just smile it off.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:19 PM ^
Prob suspended for the regular season at minimum. Maybe he gets back from suspension for the inevitable 1 and done in the conference tournament.
Wouldnt be surprised if he’s not back until next fall. I don’t think he’s fired for that, however. Wouldn’t be a huge stretch though.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:19 PM ^
It's a bad scene from Juwan (who I love) so suspension is warranted, but I will say Gard shouldn't have grabbed his arm and put his finger in his chest. Nobody has a right to touch anybody. That said, it is a very bad look.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:19 PM ^
Sadly, he has got to go unless something beyond the pail was said to precipitate it.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:19 PM ^
Where is John Beilein right now?
February 20th, 2022 at 3:31 PM ^
If Howard is fired, getting Beilein back should option 1, 2, and 3.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:19 PM ^
It's a bad scene from Juwan (who I love) so suspension is warranted, but I will say Gard shouldn't have grabbed his arm and put his finger in his chest. Nobody has a right to touch anybody. That said, it is a very bad look.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:20 PM ^
He will be suspended but fired, no
That said you have to have a cooler head when someone insults you like that. Keep it to yourself and then remember it the next time you beat those clowns
February 20th, 2022 at 3:20 PM ^
Gard initiated contact by grabbing Howard's arm and getting in his face. Howard grabbed Gard's pullover and they both had hands on each other.
Whatever was said that caused Howard to take a swing at the assistant needs to be reviewed, but definitely no excuse for taking a swing. On slow-mo, definitely looks like an open handed slap-type of motion vs a punch, but really not a good look for Howard.
Michigan will probably suspend him before the Big Ten does. Whether or not he is fired depends on the conversation between Warde and Howard, I guess.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:21 PM ^
Wow.
I honestly don’t know. I hope so. But it’s bad. And I’m seeing a lot of non-sports Twitter people weigh in on it-this is big news, will lead sports center, probably the major national sports story in every outlet tomorrow.
yiiiiiikes.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:25 PM ^
I’ll add, as I think about it:
I think Warde will feel pressure to have a response by tonight. If he survives, it’s a rest-of-the-year suspension, and needs to be announced by tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest.
If it takes longer the scrutiny will force their hand.
I’d also add that if it goes into late tomorrow it probably means Michigan is working out the legal process to fire him. So either we hear of a suspension within 14 hours or it’s searchbits. My guess only.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:33 PM ^
It’s big news on Twitter/Social Media, so people will largely forget it in the next day.
I assume the school apologizes, Howard apologizes, Howard is suspended for a while (maybe the season), and that’s about that.
Outside of announcers bringing it up the next few games, and Sportscenter mentioning it tonight, this will largely blow over IMO.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:53 PM ^
I hope you’re right, but I would be surprised if it blows over. We can call it a slap, but everyone else is saying Michigan’s head coach threw a punch and started a fight between the two teams. People won’t forget this, especially since he tried to go after another coach previously. If he stays, this incident will be talked about over and over again. I’m guessing he will be suspended tonight and fired within a day or two. I hope I’m wrong, but this is what I’m expecting to happen.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:39 PM ^
Warde's response, by tomorrow morning at the latest, should be to suspend Howard for the rest of the year. Accompanying the suspension, and obvious apology, should be an announcement that Howard's employment is under review. And that shouldn't just be a PR statement, I think they need to seriously review whether he can continue coaching here.
This is a seriously disappointing display by Howard. I really hope he apologizes and makes an effort to be better moving forward.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:21 PM ^
I wouldn't be surprised if he were to get fired over this, and I hate to say this, but I think it would be warranted. I would be so sad to see Coach Howard get the boot, because, barring a really tough season this year, he's been fantastic. His introductory press conference, where he tears up over getting the job here, is still such a wonderful moment to watch.
That said, throwing a punch at anyone on the court- opposing player, opposing staff, own player or staff- should never be viewed as anything besides a completely unacceptable action, and should be handled accordingly.
February 20th, 2022 at 3:22 PM ^
Moussa be gone for a while too after that combo on Wisconsin player
February 20th, 2022 at 3:34 PM ^
That was really intense. He won’t play again and will go pro.
February 20th, 2022 at 5:19 PM ^
What Moussa did underscores why Juwan has to go. Completely unacceptable that our head coach would be the instigator of a violent situation his players were swept up in.
February 20th, 2022 at 5:52 PM ^
I went back and slowed down the video. Moussa threw punches after number 0 from Wisconsin punched Williams twice and Moussa only got air. I could see one game.