Stephen A. Smith Fears Michigan will Fire Juwan Howard for Slapping an Opposing Coach: ‘I’m Scared for Him’
Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard sparked a melee Sunday afternoon when he slapped an opposing assistant, but according to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, his dismissal would not fit the offense.
After Michigan lost their road game against the Wisconsin Badgers, Howard had a heated exchange with opposing head coach Greg Gard on the handshake line. Players and security quickly intervened, but when Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft approached the scene, Howard hit him with a right-handed slap across the face, igniting absolute chaos on the floor.
Monday morning on First Take, Smith was a proponent of Howard keeping his head coaching job with Michigan, but feared a firing might be coming.
“I love Juwan Howard, I want him to keep his job, I don’t want him fired,” Smith said emphatically. “I know that this incident is not emblematic of his character…but the video ain’t lying. And the reality is that as the head coach of a program, at mid-court, you swung on a coach and caused a melee!”
Howard was upset over a late timeout called by Wisconsin with just 15 seconds left on the clock, even though they were leading Michigan by 15 points. Gard grabbed Howard on the handshake line to explain the timeout, which prompted the heated exchange and the eventual slap of Krabbenhoft.
“I’m sitting here hoping and praying all he gets is suspended! That he gets to keep his job!” Smith added, imploring Michigan not to dismiss Howard. “Cause I’m scared Michigan’s gonna fire him! I’m scared for him!”
While Smith doesn’t want Howard to get fired for prompting a brawl, he did call for the head coach to receive a season-ending suspension.”
“If Juwan Howard doesn’t throw the punch, none of this happens,” Smith said. “You cannot be the head coach of a program and do something like that. He should not be allowed to coach for the rest of the season.
A season-ending suspension for Howard would not be too harsh of a penalty this late in the college basketball calendar. Michigan only has five regular season games remaining on their schedule and considering their 14-11 record, 8-7 in the Big Ten conference, an NCAA Tournament bid is unlikely for the Wolverines.
Watch above via ESPN
