An alleged confrontation between Michigan head basketball coach Juwan Howard and longtime Michigan strength and conditioning coach John Sanderson is being investigated by University of Michigan human resources, leaving the program in flux.

According to three sources from the team and the university, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about internal university personnel issues, Sanderson filed a claim with human resources after a heated dispute with Howard on Dec. 7.

For Howard, the Wolverines’ fifth-year head coach, the main issue with this HR review is that his employment at Michigan is subject to a “zero-tolerance policy” instituted by the university as a result of a postgame skirmish at Wisconsin in February 2022.

According to an official familiar with university policy, human resources is responsible for gathering and reviewing the facts of the incident, including Howard’s account, and then creating a report to Howard’s president, who will make the final decision if any policy was violated. That would be Michigan athletic director Ward Manuel and University of Michigan legal counsel. He hired Manuel Howard in 2019.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the results of the human resources review are believed to still be pending.

Conversations with several witnesses and individuals familiar with the matter paint a partial picture of what happened last Thursday.

The confrontation between Howard and Sanderson arose over a dispute between an athletic trainer and senior guard Jess Howard, Joan’s 22-year-old son. Jace Howard has not played this season due to a stress fracture in his right knee and leg, and has wondered why he has not been cleared to play yet.

Sanderson became involved in the dispute, and he and Juwan Howard exchanged words. According to a group of witnesses and individuals familiar with the matter, no punches were thrown, but things escalated to the point that the two separated.

Sanderson, a staff member for 15 years, is one of the few remaining survivors of Howard’s predecessor, John Beilein. He is known among Michigan fans for his trademark “Camp Sanderson”, a result of Michigan producing numerous pros who have cited summer workouts with Sanderson as keys to their development. Sanderson also works with the men’s and women’s golf programs.

Sanderson did not report to work on Dec. 8, nor did he travel to Iowa with the schedule for Michigan’s game at Iowa on Sunday or attend practice this week. He did not return a call for comment.

Michigan plays next Saturday in Ann Arbor against Eastern Michigan. It is unclear whether Howard will serve as an assistant or head coach against EMU. Howard, who has not spoken to the media since an NIT loss to Vanderbilt last March, seen Recruiting in the metro Detroit area Tuesday night.

This season has been a challenge for Howard. He underwent heart surgery on September 15 at the University of Maryland Heart and Vascular Center. He spent most of the season returning to a coaching role. Since late November, he has sat on the sidelines as an assistant coach while assistant coach Phil Martelli served as interim head coach.

The Howard procedure resected the aortic aneurysm and repaired the aortic valve. He came in with an initial prognosis of 6-12 weeks recovery. This week marks 12 weeks.

Howard’s zero-tolerance policy dates back nearly two years. After a 77-63 loss at Cole Center on February 20, 2022, Howard exchanged words with Wisconsin coach Greg Gard in the handshake line, leading to an altercation between the two sides. Amid the commotion, Howard hit Badgers assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft in the head.

At the time, Manual called the incident “unacceptable behavior” and the Big Ten suspended Howard for the final five games of the 2021-22 regular season and fined him $40,000.

The incident in Wisconsin came on the heels of a previous altercation between Howard and Maryland coach Mark Turgeon in 2021.

Howard is on a contract through 2025-26 that was last extended in November 2021. Michigan is 5-5 and 1-1 in the Big Ten this season, having won at Iowa State on Sunday.

(Top photo of Joan Howard in March 2023: Michael Hickey/Getty Images)