Michigan men’s basketball head coach Juwan Howard has apologized for his actions during yesterday’s postgame incident against Wisconsin.
Earlier tonight, Howard was suspended by Michigan for the final five games of the regular season and fined $40,000 by the Big Ten. The monetary punishment is reportedly the largest in the history of the conference.
Shortly after the sanctions were announced, Howard released an apology via the school.
“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!”
Not surprisingly, reaction to his mea culpa was mixed. Some thought it was classy and well-articulated, while others thought Howard looked bad for misspelling Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft’s name.
Other people thought the apology lost some authenticity since it came after Howard was already punished.
This is a solid apology. He got a reasonable punishment. And now I want the Wisconsin guy who did the “suck it” chop to do 1,000 hours of community service. https://t.co/IwG7iCDezJ
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) February 22, 2022
I wish he would have said some of this on Sunday. https://t.co/M9zgDDjp88
— exhoopsprguy (@exhoopsPRguy) February 22, 2022
Facts on facts on facts. Unfortunate that he wasn’t able to recognize and admit all of this until he was suspended and fined. https://t.co/2SK8wi7mic
— Marc D’Amico (@Marc_DAmico) February 22, 2022
Looks like Juwan Howard had a significant emotional experience with his AD and university officials. Lucky for him that the suspension ends before the conference tournament https://t.co/cwrcUPpVAd
— Margaret Holt (@chicagomargaret) February 22, 2022
He took the ego hit and owned it. Well said. https://t.co/06JbExY7Qk
— Jeff Ermann (@Jeff_Ermann) February 22, 2022
Is Joel here a typo or is that intentional? https://t.co/dfzr4oaeG5
— Hammer and Rails (@HammerAndRails) February 22, 2022
This is very well done by Howard. Let’s hope all the right lessons have been learned. https://t.co/bHPgvWmh6Z
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) February 22, 2022
You can tell Howard’s apology is sincere. I mean, he misidentified the assistant coach he punched and issued the apology 30 hours after the fact. Other than that though…nailed it! https://t.co/Hm6rIGyLt0
— Jay Skebba (@JaySkebba) February 22, 2022
No mention of Greg Gard, misspelled Krabbenhoft’s first name.
— Bruce Ciskie (@BruceCiskie) February 22, 2022
Howard’s suspension will begin Wednesday night against Rutgers.
Associate head coach Phil Martelli will be filling in for him for the next five games.
The post Juwan Howard Apologizes: College Basketball World Reacts appeared first on The Spun.