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Michigan coach Juwan Howard went viral yesterday after he slapped a Wisconsin assistant coach in the handshake line following the Wolverines’ loss to the Badgers in Madison.
Following the incident Howard calmly explained what happened in those moments after the game and he was right – Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard put his hands on him, which you shouldn’t do and things escalated from there.
Gard explained later that he was trying to stop Howard to tell him why he took the late time out in blowout, a time out that angered Howard and led the Michigan coach to not wanting to shake Gard’s hand. If Gard just does the right thing and keeps walking past Howard then none of the other stuff would have happened. Putting his hands on Howard started the whole darned thing.
But that stuff did happen and Howard clearly struck Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft with what started as a closed fist but ended with an open-handed slap on the top of Krabbenhoft’s head.
The players and coaches on both sides then got a little more ramped up after that and then both sides left the court.
It didn’t take long for a bunch of people on social media to yell about how Howard should be fired for what he did. And you know what? Those people couldn’t have been more wrong.
Should Howard be suspended for a few games? Absolutely. A player would face that punishment if they had done that so it’s only right that the coach gets the same thing.
But fired? Come on. That’s ridiculous.
What happened yesterday when you look back at it wasn’t all that wild. There was a disagreement, words were said, and a fella got the top of his head smacked. It’s just not enough for a person to lose their job over, especially since he wasn’t the one who started the whole thing.
And for those yelling about how Howard wasn’t setting a good example for his players are any of you yelling about how Gonzaga’s Mark Few should be fired after his DWI arrest last September? That’s a much worse example he set for his players, isn’t it? He later pled guilty to the charges and was suspended three games.
What Howard did yesterday was pretty tame. Things got heated, things escalated a little bit, everyone was fine.
Let’s calm down with the firing talk, talk which seems to be coming from a lot of people who probably rail on and on about how “cancel culture” is out of control.
Quick hits: LeBron and MJ share a special moment… MJ talks trash to Magic Johnson… Steph Curry’s no-look 3-pointers… And more.
LeBron James and Michael Jordan were teammates last night and shared a special moment that was pretty cool to see.
– Speaking of Michael Jordan, he had a classic MJ moment with Magic Johnson backstage at the All-Star Game.
– Steph Curry’s two no-look 3-pointers in the NBA All-Star Game were so darn cool. He hit 16 3’s in the game. 16!
– Bubba Wallace was pretty bummed after coming so close to winning the Daytona 500.
