Anyone that has grown up in the ghetto understands that certain instincts never go away. The instinct of defending yourself and surviving are paramount growing up in ANY HOOD, USA.
So when Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon charged Michigan head coach Juwan Howard after getting into a shouting match on the sideline during their Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal on Friday. Most folks that grew up in those types of environments understood why Juwan, who’s from the south side of Chicago, reacted the way he did, initially. Howard went into defense mode before he’d even realized what was going on and was in my Master P voice, “Bout it!”
However, it went south for him when he started with the “Get Off Me’s!” He was good up until that point. It went south because of that, got him ejected and understandably so.
Here’s what Howard had to say about what triggered the incident after the game.
“He said, ‘Juwan, I’m not going to let you talk to me. Don’t talk to me ever again,'” Howard said of Turgeon. “Then he charged at me. I don’t know how you were raised, but the way I was raised is when someone charges you, you defend yourself.”
Again, that was completely understandable if Juwan would have left it there. However, he didn’t. He forgot that he was the head basketball coach at the University of Michigan. He’s not a kid that just came to campus from ANY HOOD, USA. He’s a grown man that’s been out of the hood for 27 years. So when the assistants grab you and say chill out. You get your composure back and chill out. Why? Because you’re the grown man that’s in charge of the program now. Not the young kid in the Starter Jacket in front of the dorm anymore. I get that once the fuse gets lit it’s hard to stomp it out but it has to be stomped out.
You don’t start with the “Get Off Me’s” like you really want to fight. That’s what the kids do and you remind them that the real world doesn’t work that way. You’re the freakin’ guy in charge. You’re the guy that all of the kids are looking up to and following now. I know that it’s hard to turn off once some fool turns it on for us. I’m not judging. I’m just saying that the “No Men” did their jobs by grabbing him.
That’s the reality of being from ANY HOOD, USA and now being in Corporate America for many of us. We’ve got those same instincts that we can never get rid of. However, those same instincts are what allowed us to become successful in life. We are survivors and no one is going to keep us from getting what belongs to us.
However, every once in a while some fool comes along that doesn’t understand that challenging a person like Turgeon did could have gotten him beaten to a pulp on national television. You never know who you’re messing with and what their background is.
Just because they’re dressed up looking the part doesn’t always mean that it’s safe to put your finger in the cage. Depending upon who you’re dealing with you may lose that finger or worse.
Those of us that grew up in the hood completely understood why Juwan snapped but was saying at the same time, chill out bruh because we’re rooting for you. It’s in the heat of the moment and they’re all competing. I get it, but once those assistants grabbed him and said “Yo bruh…you can’t literally hit this dun…at least not on the court in front of all of these people” it’s time to chill out.
Juwan Howard is a great human being and excellent coach that just got caught up in the moment. We’ve all been scared by our experiences growing up in the hood. That’s why it’s so important that we remain conscious of those hidden instincts that can jump out and bite in the presence of fools. Stop me when I start lyin’!