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Pac-12 reprimands Cal coach Mike Montgomery for shoving Allen Crabbe

California v Arizona

TUCSON, AZ - FEBRUARY 10: Head coach Mike Montgomery of the California Golden Bears reacts during the college basketball game against the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center on February 10, 2013 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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If you missed, the biggest talking point on Sunday night and into Monday morning in college hoops was the shove heard ‘round the world.

You can find the video here. In what appears to be an effort to snap Allen Crabbe out of a funk, Mike Montgomery gave him a two-handed push as he came to the bench during a timeout. Some are calling it unwarranted, some want Montgomery suspended, and others think the whole kerfluffle was much ado about nothing.

Monty was reprimanded by the Cal’s Athletic Director, Sandy Barbour, in a statement. He also apologized for the incident afterwards, while both he and Crabbe had moved past it by the time the Bears made it to the postgame press conference.

And on Monday afternoon, the Pac-12 handed down their ruling in the matter. Here’s the full press release:

The Pac-12 Conference has reprimanded California head men’s basketball coach Mike Montgomery for shoving a student-athlete during California’s game with USC on Sunday, Feb. 17.

Montgomery made aggressive, physical contact with one of his own players during a timeout in the second half of California’s game with USC.

“While emotions can run high in competitive environments, Pac-12 coaches are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that will reflect credit on the institution and the Conference,” said Commissioner Larry Scott. “Each Pac-12 coach must be aware that they are an example to student-athletes and other students, and consistent with this influence and visibility, must meet a particularly high standard.”


I’m fine with how this was handled by all parties. I don’t think what Monty did was egregious, but I would certainly not recommend he try to get away with it again. I doubt he will, as this, by all accounts, was out of character for one of the more mild-mannered coaches you’ll come across.

Do you think the coach deserved to miss a game, or was this all blown out of proportion?

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.