Chicago's Juwan Howard Put In Timeout, Next Time Could Be Worse

CHICAGO — Michigan basketball coach and Chicago native Juwan Howard has made it abundantly clear he does not wish to be touched.

But Howard's wishes didn't stop the Big Ten Conference and his bosses in Ann Arbor from putting the Wolverines coach in timeout for the manner in which he expressed his displeasure over a timeout at the end of Sunday’s Michigan-Wisconsin basketball game.

Howard, who graduated from Chicago Vocational High School before starring at Michigan and in the NBA, has been suspended for the remainder of the regular season and has been fined $40,000 for his role altercation with Wisconsin coach Greg Gard and ensuing melee, the Big Ten announced Monday night.

Monday's punishment was doled out to send a clear message — although it isn’t as harsh as those who believe Howard should lose his job for taking a swipe at a Wisconsin assistant coach. But in reality, there is no way that Howard was going to be fired over Sunday’s ugly incident after video of the handshake line dust-up between Howard and Gard went viral and remained the talk of college basketball on Monday.

What’s clear is that the Big Ten and Howard’s bosses at Michigan didn’t take kindly to the South Side native’s reaction to Gard attempting to stop Howard, who wanted no part of speaking with Gard after he called a late timeout late in Wisconsin's lopsided win on Sunday. But when push came to shove and Howard took things into his own hands, something needed to be done. And so the Big Ten took action.

Gard honestly should have been smart enough not to try to stop Howard from walking by in the heat of the moment. But Howard then went too far in a reaction that he had no interest in apologizing for, until Monday's suspension and fine was handed down, when Howard said he is “truly sorry” and that his “mistake” would not be repeated.

Before then, however, Howard was unrepentant and told reporters on Sunday that he felt the need to defend himself against Gard, who stands a full foot shorter than the 6-foot-9 Howard.

Sunday's incident marks the second time in less than a year Howard has felt the need to “defend himself” against a much shorter opposing coach. During last year’s Big Ten Tournament, Howard got into a verbal altercation with Maryland coach Mark Turgeon, whom, according to Howard, charged toward him despite being out-sized by the towering Michigan coach.

Like on Sunday, Howard’s defense last year was to claim he felt the need to protect himself, which ­— Howard said at the time – is all part of his Chicago DNA.

“I don't know how you was raised, but how I was raised by my grandmother and also by Chicago, because I was raised by Chicago and I grew up in the South Side, when guys charge you, it's time to defend yourself,” Howard said at the time. “Especially when a grown man charges you.”

While Gard's effort to impede Howard from moving past him stopped Howard in his tracks, Howard’s actions of throwing hands at Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft only made things worse. It led to players exchanging punches and resulted in players from both Michigan and Wisconsin being suspended for one game each.

While Gard played a role in setting Howard off and was fined $10,000, it was Howard who allowed his temper to get the best of him. It is absurd to suggest that Howard's South Side upbringing somehow triggers his violent outbursts as some suggested on social media on Sunday. But it is equally an issue for Howard to use where he grew up as an excuse for his actions when it is evident he is not in any clear danger of being actually threatened by an opposing coach.

Howard remains the fierce competitor just as he was when he was a member of Michigan’s famed Fab Five, the brash group of young players that left an indelible mark on college basketball culture.

But 30 years after Howard was part of a talented group of youngsters that did a whole lot of winning and made more than their fair share of enemies in their time, the time has come for Howard to understand his role as a coach as someone who is looked up to by young people and to not allow his ego, temper — where he was raised — to get in the way him doing the right thing.

This time around it cost him five games and a fine that, given his NBA past and lucrative salary at Michigan, he can certainly afford. But if Howard continues to cry self-defense every time he plays a role in an ugly altercation where adults aren’t actually the adults in the room, perhaps next time, his bosses may not be as understanding and the punishment won't be as lenient.

If it gets to that point, and a similar incident and his reaction ends up costing Howard more that it did on Monday, Juwan Howard will have no one to blame but himself.