Wisconsin men’s basketball: Chris McIntosh issues statement in support of Greg Gard

After all of the suspensions and fines were handed out by the Big Ten Conference and the University of Michigan, Wolverines head coach Juwan Howard and athletic director Warde Manuel issued apologies. Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh issued a statement as well.

McIntosh’s statement was a strong one in support of both Gard and the men’s basketball team as a whole. “Our staff has my complete support, as do our student-athletes. I consider the $10,000 fine from the Big Ten to be a ‘Wisconsin fine’ and not a ‘Greg Gard fine.’ Wisconsin Athletics will assume the responsibility for paying the fine,” McIntosh said.

The statement, notably, does not include an apology.

On the Michigan side of things, head coach Juwan Howard apologized for his actions on Sunday, something he did not even come close to doing directly after the game in his press conference.

“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,” Howard wrote.

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel added his own statement:

“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.”

Howard’s statement calls Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft, the man he hit to kick off the postgame madness, “Joel” in his statement. It has since been corrected on the Michigan website, but is obviously a pretty embarrassing oversight by Howard and Michigan.