WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. — MARCH 18: Gabe Brown (44) of the Michigan State Spartans grabs a rebound against the UCLA Bruins in the First Four round of the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament held at Mackey Arena. (Photo by Andy Hancock/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
You probably sat there, too, staring at your television screen with your eyes popping out of your head as you watched Head Coach Tom Izzo yank on Gabe Brown's jersey going into the tunnel at halftime.
Your jaw probably dropped a little, maybe you spared a gasp or a laugh when Brown tore himself away and stalked off when Joshua Langford tried to hold Brown back.
I'll be the first to tell you, it's nothing to worry about. I saw one MSU alumni explain it like this, plain and simple:
"Did any of you ever play sports growing up?" the tweet said.
"Have any of you ever been in a one-and-done tournament, where a single — let alone multiple — miscommunicated play could throw the whole narrative? Emotions are going to be present and, out-of-context, of course, these types of incidents look bad. Take a breath and delete the hate post in your drafts".
Izzo laughed when he was asked about it postgame, reluctantly sharing his recount:
"You guys are beautiful," Izzo said. "He missed a play, and I told him, and he walked away and so I told him to come back. We went through this a couple of years ago. A game like that, that’s the question you’re going to ask me? I guess I’ll answer it because the media has the right to ask whatever question. But, we’ll get him in here and you can ask him. It was a normal nothing. It’s just that in this day and age, it’s something."
Former Michigan State basketball players tweeted in response of the moment, praising Izzo's coaching style and condoning his actions:
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