Various Suspensions Issued For Michigan and Wisconsin Following Sunday’s Incident

As most of the sports world knows by now, Michigan and Wisconsin were part of an incident over the weekend where multiple coaches and players were involved in a physical altercation. We wrote about the incident in depth here.

You can see some of the video here as well:

Well, the league finally issued its decision regarding those involved on Monday evening and the consequences were significant. All told, there were eight games worth of suspensions and $50,000 in combined fines.

The Big Ten issued this statement in announcing the punishments:

ROSEMONT, Ill. — In collaboration with University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin, the Big Ten Conference has reviewed the postgame physical altercation between the Michigan Wolverines and Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball teams on February 20, 2022, in Madison, Wisconsin.

It has been determined that there was a clear violation of the Big Ten Conference’s Sportsmanship Policy by Michigan Men’s Basketball Head Coach Juwan Howard. Additionally, the University of Wisconsin Men’s Basketball Head Coach Greg Gard was in violation of the conference’s sportsmanship policy.

For their roles in the altercation, Michigan’s Terrance Williams II (forward), Moussa Diabate (forward), and Wisconsin’s Jahcobi Neath (guard) were also in violation of the Big Ten Conference’s Sportsmanship Policy. Many members of the bench area for both teams, including assistant coaches, did not represent the level of sportsmanship that is expected from the Big Ten Conference and its member institutions.

“Big Ten Conference coaches and student-athletes are expected to display the highest level of sportsmanship conduct,” stated Commissioner Kevin Warren. “I am grateful for the partnership with Michigan Athletics Director, Warde Manuel and Wisconsin Athletics Director, Chris McIntosh. Our expectation is that the incident yesterday will provide our coaches and student-athletes with the opportunity to reflect, learn and move forward in a manner that demonstrates decorum and leadership on and off of the court.”

The University of Michigan Athletics Director, Warde Manuel proactively addressed a five-game suspension of his Head Coach, Juwan Howard with Commissioner Warren. Concluding an assessment of the incident, the conference and the University of Michigan reached alignment on Coach Howard’s disciplinary action.

The Big Ten Conference, in conjunction with the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin, are imposing the following disciplinary actions:

University of Michigan

Head Coach Juwan Howard

-Coaching Suspension: Five games (remainder of the regular season)

-Fine: $40,000.00

Student-Athlete Terrance Williams II

-Suspension: One game (effective immediately)

Student-Athlete Moussa Diabate

-Suspension: One game (effective immediately)

University of Wisconsin

Head Coach Greg Gard

-Fine: $10,000.00

Student-Athlete Jahcobi Neath

-Suspension: One game (effective immediately)

Michigan also issued two statements regarding the incident. AD Warde Manuel released the following:

“Today’s disciplinary actions underscore the seriousness with which we take the incident that unfolded on Sunday. Simply put, there is no room at U-M for the behavior we saw. We will learn from this incident as a department, work to improve ourselves while operating under a spotlight, and move forward in a positive light.”

And Juwan Howard issued the following:

“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!”

Obviously, Michigan took the brunt of the punishment here, losing its head coach for the rest of the regular season and two key contributors for Wednesday’s game against Rutgers. These suspensions could very well derail what was looking like an encouraging finish for Michigan. Wisconsin will also have to battle short handed to continue its pursuit of a Big Ten title. It’s a disappointing situation for everyone involved.

BTPowerhouse will keep you updated on this story as further information becomes available over the coming days and weeks.