Sports often have handshake lines after games and this is a fairly old tradition. In the aftermath of the mini brawl between Michigan and Wisconsin, some have proposed that it is done away with entirely to avoid situations like that between winning and losing teams. Michigan State Spartans Head Coach Tom Izzo thas weighed in on the idea and he did not hold back.
Incredible response by Tom Izzo when asked about the idea that the postgame handshake line should be done away with.
— Matt Lisle (@CoachLisle) February 22, 2022
Tom Izzo had the following to say on Monday when asked: “That, to me, would be the biggest farce, joke, ridiculous nature of anything I’ve ever heard of, We’ve already taught these poor 18-year-olds that when you’re told to go to class and you don’t like it, you can leave. We’ve already told these kids that if you’re not happy, you can do something else. We’ve already told these kids that it’s hard to hold them accountable.
“And now we’re going to tell them to not man up and walk down a line to someone who’s kicked your butt and have enough class to shake their hand is utterly ridiculous. So if the president said it, I think he’s full of it. If the best coach in America said it, I think … that gets me more than this incident.”
Things got heated in the postgame handshake line between Michigan and Wisconsin with Michigan coach Juwan Howard appearing to strike a Wisconsin coach ? pic.twitter.com/T4Wh0qASAn
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) February 20, 2022
This debate is sure to continue with both sides offering valid points and criticisms. One thing is for sure and that is the game of basketball has no place for fighting. The Michigan and Wisconsin incident does not need to be repeated.
