Now, Juwan Howard Needs to Be a Better Leader

The Michigan coach is emerging from Sunday's incident at Wisconsin with his job, and a chance to do better.

Juwan Howard has a sideline comportment problem. He is fortunate he will get a chance to work on it while still the basketball coach at Michigan.

When Howard reached out with a right hand and hit Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft in the face after a loss Sunday, it marked at least the third time in a little more than a year where Howard has escalated a situation beyond common coaching protocol. The Michigan coach said his postgame anger was a byproduct of Wisconsin coach Greg Gard’s last-minute timeout call with the game in control. While the timeout was hard to justify as anything other than grandstanding for the home crowd and rubbing it into the visitors, it should also be noted Michigan was still pressing at the time.

Howard grabbed Gard’s pullover and thrust a finger in his face, and it got worse from there. As staff and players intervened, with jawing back and forth, Howard reached over people and connected to Krabbenhoft’s face. That, right then and there, was a line that cannot be crossed. 

If Krabbenhoft said something truly offensive, we seemingly would have heard about it very quickly after the game. And even if he did, responding violently is not acceptable. Not because Howard’s open hand injured Krabbenhoft (it didn’t), but because it sparked a bigger melee with punches thrown by multiple players. Michigan’s Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams II threw punches, as did Wisconsin’s Jahcobi Neath. (Last month, Diabate had to be restrained by several teammates after a loss at Rutgers.)

This could have turned ugly at that point, with serious injuries or perhaps even a Malice in the Palace-spill over into the stands. And Howard was the one who escalated the situation.

Howard was suspended for five regular-season games and fined $40,000 for Sunday's postgame incident. 

Rich Barnes/USA Today Sports

What Howard did in the postgame handshake line wasn’t quite as clear-cut a fireable offense as Woody Hayes punching a Clemson player during the 1978 Gator Bowl. That was completely unprovoked. In this situation, Gard did initiate the confrontation by grabbing Howard’s arm and setting him off, as Howard repeatedly said “Don’t f------ touch me. Gard could have—should have—let Howard walk past instead of trying to explain or lecture him in the moment. Howard was lucky he only received a five-game suspension instead of also being sidelined for the postseason. Or flat-out terminated with cause. (Gard, too, is fortunate to emerge from this with only a $10,000 fine and not a suspension of his own.)

But what Howard did thereafter was inexcusable, and part of a pattern.

In early February 2021, Howard strangely came all the way out to the center jump circle during a stoppage in play at Ohio State when a Buckeyes player asked for a timeout after being hit in the eye. Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann responded by meeting Howard there and some testy words were exchanged, but the situation calmed down quickly. There was no reason for Howard to suddenly be at center court. The second was during the Big Ten tournament that same year, when Howard lost it on Maryland’s Mark Turgeon and got ejected from a game his team was winning by 10 points. Howard crossed midcourt while fuming at Turgeon and had to be restrained by his staff, or that situation could have gotten bad, as well. Howard later said Turgeon “charged” at him.

"I don’t know how you guys were raised but how I was raised by my grandmother and also by Chicago,” Howard said in explaining that outburst. “I was raised by Chicago, I grew up on the South Side, when guys charge you, it’s time to defend yourself.”

On Sunday, Howard described the Gard interaction in similar terms.

“I think that was very uncalled for him to touch me as we were verbalizing and communicating with one another,” Howard said. “That’s what ended up happening. That’s what escalated it. [There] wasn’t cause for that when we were talking. At that point, I thought it was time to protect myself.”

In neither situation did Howard appear to be in physical danger.

After offering no conciliatory words Sunday, Howard did apologize in a statement released by the school Monday night: "After taking time to reflect on all that happened, I realize how unacceptable both my actions and words were, and how they affected so many. I am truly sorry. I am offering my sincerest apology to my players and their families, my staff, my family and the Michigan fans around the world. I would like to personally apologize to Wisconsin's Assistant Coach Joe Krabbenhoft and his family, too.

"Lastly, I speak a lot about being a Michigan man and representing the University of Michigan with class and pride, I did not do that, nor did I set the right example in the right way for my student-athletes. I will learn from my mistake and this mistake will never happen again. No excuses!”

That should also extend to the Michigan leadership, which has seemed to excuse Howard when he has previously pushed the envelope. He’s a popular former player and has been a successful head coach—a quality hire replacing super-successful John Beilein—although this year’s team has been a disappointment. But with status comes responsibility. Millionaires who like to bill themselves as molders of young athletes can’t act like Howard has acted. He shouldn’t be above acting with some class during and immediately after games, no matter how they turn out.

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Howard isn’t too far removed from a long and illustrious playing career. He was a member of Michigan’s fabled Fab Five teams and played in the NBA from 1994-2013. At times, the 49-year-old seems to carry himself on the sidelines like the imposing power forward he was. Being competitive and fiery is one thing; escalating confrontations is another.

Good coaching isn’t about physical contact, with anyone. It never should have been, but it’s less escapable now more than ever, because a coach’s every move during every game is recorded for posterity on TV or cell phones. The days of Rick Barnes punching a fan who was yelling racist insults when he was the coach at Providence more than 30 years ago—and not even being suspended, just being admonished by Big East commissioner Dave Gavitt—are long gone. Michigan State’s Tom Izzo has found his penchant for grabbing his players less defensible than it used to be. And it goes without saying that throwing hands at opposing coaches or players is on the strictly forbidden list.

Juwan Howard is emerging from this incident with his job, and a chance to do better. He needs to be a leader, not an instigator.

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