Sanderson filed formal HR complaint against Howard per Brendan Quinn

Submitted by GoBlue96 on December 13th, 2023 at 1:36 PM

https://theathletic.com/5134471/2023/12/13/juwan-howard-michigan-basketball/

According to three team and university sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak publicly on internal university personnel issues, Sanderson filed an HR claim following a heated dispute with Howard on Dec. 7..

...

The confrontation between Howard and Sanderson stemmed from a disagreement between an athletic trainer and senior guard Jace Howard, Juwan’s 22-year-old son. Jace Howard has not played this season with a stress fracture in his right knee and tibia, and questioned why he’s yet to be cleared to play. 

[ED- I cut the quoted part down. Please don't c/p most of someone's article] 

Basketball

907_UM Nanook

December 13th, 2023 at 9:15 PM ^

Anger itself is a secondary emotion. But if you have to react on the streets with no visible primary emotions, like happiness & sadness, then you're programmed to react with anger.

Juwan was a class act as a player, nothing like Draymond. But yeah, I can see your point with regard to the physicality coming out - I still see it as emotionally driven though. Just a short-circuit to anger. And I'm only speaking as a former CASA volunteer who learned some stuff advocating for foster kids. I didn't grow up on the mean streets like both these guys did.

Joined: 04/01/2018

MGoPoints: 15403

maizedNblued

December 13th, 2023 at 2:00 PM ^

If there is a formal claim at a public school which was not handled internally within the athletics department - then this is something that has been culminating for quite some time. Many of you accurately have stated that disputes like this happen in athletic departments on a regular basis - the simple fact is that if a longstanding employee is formally bringing forward a complaint about a peer, then it clearly has become a concern on the culture and not just a "one-off". 

Sadly and to avoid a PR nightmare, Howard will head back to the NBA at the end of this season. He never should never have been put in this place to begin with -  cannot stress the importance and value of hiring the right coaches to run athletic programs. 

Joined: 11/25/2009

MGoPoints: 2137

trueblueintexas

December 13th, 2023 at 2:03 PM ^

At least we are starting to deal with facts and not rumors.

Sounds like this situation tapped into Coach Howard's very strong "defend himself and family" ethos. While I understand why this is so ingrained in him, at his age and position, it can't lead to the type of exchange which would illicit an HR complaint. 

I don't know much about Sanderson so I can't say if his filing an HR complaint is justified or not. That will be up to HR, the AD, and lawyers. Only thing to do now is wait and see what shakes out. It probably will not take long. 

Joined: 11/10/2008

MGoPoints: 36792

SagNasty

December 13th, 2023 at 2:14 PM ^

There was a heated argument between grown men and this is a story? I think people know that anything involving Michigan athletics especially if it can be portrayed as negative is gold. Either the two men let it go and work together or the boss (Juwan) fires the employee. 

Joined: 06/22/2011

MGoPoints: 928

WorldwideTJRob

December 13th, 2023 at 3:06 PM ^

But you’re assuming his HR complaint is “gospel” at this point it is nothing more than just a complaint. We were not privy to the altercation, so therefore we have no idea what transpired. For all we know Sanderson could’ve been the aggressor and filed the HR complaint to cover his own ass. Point is this does not prove Juwan’s guilt(or innocence) at this time. We have to let this play out. The school will investigate and come to a conclusion.

Joined: 07/05/2010

MGoPoints: 31150

kehnonymous

December 13th, 2023 at 2:40 PM ^

I think we all know that Harbaugh (or any successful coach) has had at least a dozen screaming matches with assistant coaches or players.  I don't love that, but if you know anything about organized sports you understand that that's part of the territory and can sometimes be a catalyst towards eventually greater group cohesion on the field.

The mistake some people are making is to excuse screaming matches altogether just because it's part of sports.  It's certainly possible for hot-temperedness to be a bad thing, and it certainly looks like that may be the case here - given the play of the team so far, it doesn't look like Howard's temper is helping them.

Joined: 11/25/2011

MGoPoints: 33142

1blueeye

December 13th, 2023 at 2:16 PM ^

Question about Sanderson. It seems like we used to get more post camp Sanderson photos of players looking jacked compared to the previous season. I’m thinking of Duncan Robinson and Mo and Franz Wagner in particular but also guys like Jordan Morgan and Derrick Walton and Trey Burke. If I recall, “camp Sanderson” was voluntary. It has not seemed like the last few years had the same number of transformations as we saw under Belein. I could be wrong, but just an observation and I wonder if Juwan isn’t as enthusiastic about “camp Sanderson” as Belein was. 

Joined: 02/13/2014

MGoPoints: 2907

lilpenny1316

December 13th, 2023 at 2:17 PM ^

So, they exchanged words and had to be separated. No punches thrown. No word on who the aggressor was. 

Was this a case of two dudes yelling while they played the "hold me back" game? 

Joined: 11/19/2009

MGoPoints: 61944

MgoBlueprint

December 13th, 2023 at 2:19 PM ^

I think the thing that’s different with this situation is that Juwan may have been acting as a parent rather than this being a ‘coach’s son situation’ given the injury. Purely speculation on my part, but if my son has an injury maybe I’m cautious about forcing his return or him being called soft for not pushing the rehab. injuries are a different beast there’s a thin line between pushing through pain and re-injuring. 

Again, I’m speculating here. 

Joined: 12/15/2008

MGoPoints: 11576

RibbleMcDibble

December 13th, 2023 at 2:39 PM ^

Ah fuck it, Sanderson vs. Howard, who you got? 

Edit: Howard is 50 years old, listed at 6'9" 250. Sanderson appears to be 44, about 6'5" 2something. 

MMA/Wrestling probably Sanderson, boxing Howard might have him with the reach. 

Joined: 10/24/2023

MGoPoints: 7773

Teddy Bonkers

December 13th, 2023 at 4:15 PM ^

Sanderson in a fight, I doubt it would be close.

I also think Sanderson is a bigger asset to the basketball program. I was in school for fab five and Howard was my favorite player of the bunch, but his coaching tenure has been poor enough on the court and poor enough off the court to let him go for either reason. 

 

Joined: 03/08/2018

MGoPoints: 3807

JamesBondHerpesMeds

December 13th, 2023 at 2:42 PM ^

I am not here to defend either party in this manner.

But the amount of people who are quick to jump to Sanderson's defense here, and assume an HR complaint was filed in good faith and in pure benevolence, is really interesting.

I imagine this is due to there being huge information asymmetry - in that we've seen Juwan's temper get the best of him, whereas we know nothing about Sanderson's temperament - but we also can give some credence to the fact that a lot of HR filings come up with no recourse necessary because the filing party was not injured in the way originally claimed.

All said - to sjrk's comment - we have it on file now; let the details play out in due time.

Joined: 04/13/2009

MGoPoints: 39709

BoCanHam15

December 13th, 2023 at 3:04 PM ^

It is not just interesting it is what it is for,"face value!"  He's from Chicago!  Where'd you think that comment extends from.  Well Sandy never had any other public complaints,"I guess!"  There's bias, then there's extreme unconditional bias!  Some people cannot even see nor realize their own biases even,"if" you show it to them.  I'll never defend another mans job.  However, I do understand when a poster in jest says where a man is from is not just a joke.  I'm glad I don't have to work with some people in order to make a sustainable living.

Joined: 07/08/2016

MGoPoints: 16110

Booted Blue in PA

December 13th, 2023 at 3:15 PM ^

pretty universally the Mgoblog community wants due process for the investigation regarding the football program and sign stealing.....

the same community wants Juwan fired for something that not a single person here knows the details of, worse yet, drawing conclusions from tidbits of leaked information.  Leaked information almost always has an agenda.

how about we chill?

Joined: 12/18/2018

MGoPoints: 60486

MightyMatt13

December 13th, 2023 at 3:49 PM ^

I don't think anyone wants Juwan fired over whatever this incident was. I think plenty want him fired for any reason as a result of: teams not developing throughout the year, playing time decisions, portal misuse stars giving low effort on the court without repercussion, saying he wanted to kill another coach, slapping an opposing coach, losing his cool on the bench when he's not even coaching. 

Joined: 02/26/2012

MGoPoints: 5791

bronxblue

December 13th, 2023 at 4:08 PM ^

Then fire him for those reasons, even if some of them are hard to define/prove/are inconsistent even across seasons.  But there are people acting this is some straw that broke a camel's back when I promise you had UM beaten IU and Oregon this would be treated differently.

I will own up to being a Howard defender but acknowledge this year has been more disappointing than I expected, and at the end of the year if improvement is not seen I'd be fine with a change at the top if that made sense.  But make the move because of on-court issues and team development, not this sudden moralistic "he can't handle his temper" standard that, if applied to all college coaches, would lead to 99% of them being guilty of the same level of off-the-handle behavior at times.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171910

Hensons Mobile…

December 13th, 2023 at 4:25 PM ^

Come on man. This is not about one incident based on rumors or a possibly unfounded HR complaint. He already had a zero tolerance policy on him for a reason. This is not a "sudden moralistic standard."

If he gets fired at the end of this HR review, it will be because it was determined to violate the zero tolerance policy.

If it doesn't rise to that level, he will get to finish coaching this year. And then if they miss the tournament a second time, yeah, he probably gets fired for underperforming. And it won't help him that he now has a history and reputation of anger management issues. Not sure why that wouldn't be a factor in the decision.

Joined: 09/12/2019

MGoPoints: 49792

OldSchoolWolverine

December 13th, 2023 at 5:29 PM ^

I missed the games starting with Long Beach St, up til Iowa.  I'm quite content with this team. Record sucks. But they're going thru growing pains. I really like this team.  Juwan recruited well here and is par for the course.   The culture thing I don't like and didn't like seeing Jett half ass it last year. Juwan has a blind spot and it's a shame. 

Joined: 11/03/2013

MGoPoints: 27615

bronxblue

December 13th, 2023 at 4:03 PM ^

I'm also old enough to remember when some prominent people around here thought Harbaugh needed to be fired/step down, in part, due to potential complications from CTE because he seemed more subdued during losses than in the past.

Michigan's fandom is as full of reactionaries as any, and we're all inclined to fit facts into whatever narrative we want.  But it's crazy how quickly people want Howard gone now because the basketball team isn't good and so are suddenly believing that two grown men yelling at each other is a fireable offense, especially when the actual comments we've heard around the story point to both Howard and Sanderson being guilty of bad actions.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171910

WindyCityBlue

December 13th, 2023 at 2:46 PM ^

I'm a huge Juwan fan.  Still am.  Neg me all you want, but I like coaches with passion that sometimes bubbles over.  We certainly need to help him reign it in more, but I love Juwan.  IMO, Izzo is worse than Juwan in this regard.

Joined: 07/23/2008

MGoPoints: 41226

BoCanHam15

December 13th, 2023 at 4:42 PM ^

Don't worry about the players I'm sure they'll express how great Sandy is because as another poster mentioned he's,"silvery!"  At least at this point I'm so glad that his bratty son is still there.  Can you imagine the line of questioning?  So coach was doing what?  Now could you please young man tell me what was said directly to you.  Is this a rumor backed by Quinn?  Ok now say that again he said what to you?  Got it!!!  I wonder why he filed a formal complaint.  I think Quinn hasn't mentioned both sides yet.  Leaky, leaky, leaky!!!

Joined: 07/08/2016

MGoPoints: 16110