ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It was indefensible Sunday, when a postgame handshake line suddenly became a mosh pit — and perilously close to a crime scene — after Michigan's loss to Wisconsin in Madison.
So it was inevitable Monday, when the Big Ten Conference, working in concert with administrators from both schools, announced a handful of suspensions, starting with head coach Juwan Howard, who took a swipe at a Wisconsin assistant coach in the middle of Sunday's scrum and now will lose his seat on the Wolverines' bench for the rest of the regular season.
Howard will miss Michigan's final five games and pay a $40,000 fine for his central role in Sunday's fiasco, as frustrations from the end of the Wolverines' 77-63 loss boiled over in an embarrassing display of unchecked emotions.
That's the banner headline, anyway, following a day that was anything but that for the league, let alone Howard or his employers, which partly explains why it was Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel who "proactively" handed down Howard's suspension early Monday evening.
It's one that is scheduled to end in time for Howard to return to the sideline for the Big Ten tournament, though the university said any final decision on postseason participation by Howard would come only after a meeting between "all parties." And don't underestimate the involvement of Michigan's interim university president, Mary Sue Coleman, who was on the phone with her Wisconsin counterpart, Jay Rothman, to offer an apology Sunday.
"Today's disciplinary actions underscore the seriousness with which we take the incident that unfolded on Sunday," Manuel said in a statement released Monday night. "Simply put, there is no room at U-M for the behavior we saw. We will learn from this incident as a department, work to improve ourselves while operating under a spotlight, and move forward in a positive light."
Still, this incident threatens to overshadow the rest of this season for the Wolverines — scrambling to try to secure an NCAA Tournament berth — while delivering a serious blow to Howard's reputation, less than three years after he returned to his alma mater as head coach. Frankly, though, he should feel fortunate to still have a job.
And while some will argue whether Howard's punishment fits the crime here, it's fair to wonder how some others managed to avoid paying a price for their roles in escalating things Sunday.
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard was fined $10,000 for violating the Big Ten's sportsmanship policy, while the three players that were seen throwing punches — Wisconsin's Jahcobi Neath and Michigan's Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams II — all received one-game suspensions.
But even though the league noted that "many members of the bench area for both teams, including assistant coaches, did not represent the level of sportsmanship that is expected," no other fines or disciplinary actions were announced. And that's hard to square with the mayhem that took place, right up to that juvenile WWE gesture by the Badgers' strength coach directed at the Michigan contingent.
Yet the point here is exactly that: This whole situation could've been so much worse, and Howard, as the primary instigator, should consider himself lucky it wasn't.
"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," Howard said in a statement Monday released by the university. "I am truly sorry."
Howard went on to apologize to his players, his staff, his family and Michigan fans, as well as Wisconsin's Joe Krabbenhoft, the assistant coach he struck amid all the pushing and shoving and yelling on the court.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, the dean of Big Ten coaches, called it a "scary situation" and "bad for college basketball" when he was asked about it at his weekly press conference Monday. And he's not wrong: Who's to say what would've happened had things spilled over into the stands? Or if one of those players had been seriously injured while throwing haymakers.
That's why everyone knew significant penalties were coming, even if they didn't agree on who was most culpable. And the way this drew national attention over the last 24 hours, Michigan knew it couldn't afford to delay or deflect its duty to self-police.
Especially since it was less than a year ago that Howard found himself in a similar situation. Howard narrowly avoided a suspension last March when he clashed with then-Maryland coach Mark Turgeon at the Big Ten tournament, an argument that ended with Howard reportedly threatening Turgeon and having to be restrained by his own staff. He drew a pair of technical fouls, was ejected, and after apologizing for his actions, the Big Ten said it reviewed the incident and declined to add any further discipline.
"That's not the way you handle situations like that under adverse moments," Howard said at the time. "Can't let your emotions get the best of you. I love how our guys stepped up and supported their coach, because they know I'm always gonna support them. But I'm going to always take ownership when I'm wrong and admit when I'm wrong. That's not the right way how to handle that situation."
Yet he failed to heed his own words Sunday. Then in his postgame press conference he seemingly accepted no responsibility for the way things erupted. And all that left the league and Michigan's administration no choice but to act.
It also leaves his team and his players in a terrible spot — and not just the two who were suspended for their actions after Howard carelessly took the first swing. Think of the seniors, including Eli Brooks, who returned for a fifth year, intent on making another run at a national championship.
This Michigan team that began the season as the preseason favorite to repeat as the Big Ten champion sits squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble at the moment. The Wolverines are 14-11 overall and 8-7 in conference play with five games left in the regular season, none of which Howard will be allowed to coach.
Instead, it'll be associate head coach Phil Martelli taking the lead, starting with Wednesday's shorthanded game against Rutgers in Ann Arbor. Home dates with Illinois, Michigan State and Iowa will follow, and then a trip to Ohio State before the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis. Michigan probably needs to win three of those — and maybe one more in Indianapolis — to feel safe on Selection Sunday. And that challenge just grew more daunting for reasons that were completely within Howard's control, until he decided to lose it.
"I speak a lot about being a Michigan man and representing the University of Michigan with class and pride," Howard continued in his statement Monday. "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!"
None that can be accepted moving forward, at least. That much is clear now. It's a shame it wasn't already.
