WATCH: New video reveals NSFW conversation between Juwan Howard, Greg Gard before punch
Things continue to look worse for Juwan Howard after his Sunday altercation with Wisconsin coach Greg Gard. A new video provided clear audio of what the Michigan basketball coach said to Gard prior to throwing a punch at him following a 77-63 loss.
“I’ll remember this shit,” Howard can be heard saying in the video. Gard then placed his hand on the Wolverines coach in attempt to calm him now.
“Don’t f****** touch me,” Howard responded, shoving Gard off of him.
It was at that moment that the altercation turned physical, with Juwan Howard pulling his mask down and pointing in Greg Gard’s face. Staff members and players attempted to separate the two, but Howard managed to land a punch on the Badgers coach resulting in an all-out brawl between the teams.
The Michigan coach was reportedly upset that Gard called a timeout with a 15-point lead and only 15 seconds remaining in the game. Gard explained postgame that he made that choice in order to give his bench players more time to advance the ball up the court.
“I had all the reserves in and I was not gonna put them in a position when the ball had already been knocked out of bounds to have to break a press with four seconds when they’re coming in cold off the bench,” Gard said. “So I took a timeout, which I’m allowed to do. I brought them over and tried to get them organized. They had all been on the floor in pressure situations before and I wanted to give them the best chance to have success. I told them, ‘We’re not gonna shoot the ball. All we’re doing is breaking pressure, then we’re gonna come up and dribble out the clock.’ We were on our spot, we got organized and that is the situation that he was apparently upset with.”
The Big Ten issued a statement following the game saying it is investigating the incident. Based on the ample evidence against Howard, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him serve a suspension for his actions. He addressed this possibility postgame, saying he will take whatever punishment the conference sees fit.
However, according to local reporters, the Michigan coach remained unapologetic following the game.
“Juwan Howard has not apologized for anything that happened,” tweeted Michael Cohen of the Detroit Free Press. “Said he was upset about Wisconsin calling a timeout late in the game. He expressed that frustration to Greg Gard. Howard said Gard touched him during the postgame line and he felt the need to defend himself.”
The loss dropped Michigan to 14-11 on the season as its NCAA Tournament chances appear to be getting slimmer and slimmer. The Wolverines are running out of time to get their season back on track, with just five games remaining before the Big Ten Tournament.
They are next set to face Rutgers at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday at home.