Juwan Howard has been suspended for the season after the brawl with Wisconsin / News - Basketnews.com

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After causing a brawl after the NCAA match against Wisconsin several days ago, the Michigan University basketball team's head coach and former NBA player Juwan Howard has been suspended for the rest of the regular season.

Juwan Howard

Position:PFAge:49Height:206 cmWeight:113 kgBirth place:Chicago, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

The news of the five-game suspension handed down by the university was originally broken by Dan Wetzel on Twitter and confirmed in a statement by the Big Ten NCAA Conference. In addition to missing the rest of the regular season, Howard is also subject to a $40,000 fine.

While having a 76-61 lead, Wisconsin's coach Gard called a timeout with 15 seconds to go in the game. Apparently, the timeout did not go well with Howard. He aggressively confronted the opponents' coach Greg Gard after the match, which caused a brawl between the coaches and the players.

Of the Michigan players involved in the brawl, forwards Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams II will be suspended for one game each and are set to be available their second regular season matchup against Michigan State.

Howard released a statement later, apologizing for his action. "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," Howard said in the statement.

"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 Joel 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," Howard continued. "I will learn from my mistake and this mistake will never happen again."

Michigan State's head coach Tom Izzo was asked about their next opponent's confrontation ahead of the match. "I feel bad for Juwan, I feel bad for Gard, I feel bad for all of them that are involved in it because nothing good comes of it," he said.

"I hope for everybody’s sake, more than the punishment that’s dealt out, the lessons have been learned and we move forward," coach Izzo told ahead of the game.

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