Michigan State Basketball Coach Explains Why He Agreed to Eject Former Player: 'He Was 150% Wrong'

NEED TO KNOW

• Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo is agreeing with the refs
• The legendary coach said a former player deserved to be ejected from the game on Monday night
• Paul Davis was asked to leave the Breslin Center after he made controversial comments directed at the officals

Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo was quizzical after a former player was ejected from the stands during a game against USC on Monday night.

After the No. 12 Spartans beat the Trojans, the legendary coach shared more about his reaction when Paul Davis — a member of the 2005 Final Four team — was tossed from the game at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich.

"You know I love Paul Davis,” Izzo, 70, told reporters on Monday, Jan. 5. “He's one of my favorite guys. "He's always calling and doing things. But what he said — he should never say anywhere in the world. That ticked me off.”

He continued, “Just because it's 25, 20 years later, I'm going to have to call him tomorrow and tell him what I thought of it. And you know what he'll say? 'I screwed up, Coach. Sorry.' "

Davis’ seeming indiscretion came with about six minutes left in the blowout game, which Michigan State ultimately won, 80-51. 

Seated opposite the Spartans’ bench, Davis was asked by a ref to leave the venue.

Izzo said that Davis' comment to the officials "wasn't something racial, it wasn't something sexual," but added that "it was just the wrong thing to say, and I'll leave it at that."

In footage from the incident, the coach tried to interact with Davis. 

“What the f--- are you doing? What are you doing?" he yelled across the court to his former 41-year-old player.

Later, after conferring with the official, Izzo had clarification on Davis’ transgression.

"He kind of got after the official and he was 150% wrong," Izzo said. "And for a guy like me to 150% agree with the official, it's almost illegal. So I feel bad because [Davis] did that because he's been a guy that comes back a lot and we've got to keep him coming back. He made a mistake."

With Monday night’s outcome, Izzo moved into eighth place in NCAA history for active Division I coaches, notching his 750th win. And ever the coach, he viewed the bizarre incident as a teaching moment.

"I'm going to tell him he was wrong like I would my son, like I would my daughter, like I would my player," Izzo said. "But I need Paul Davis here."

Read the original article on People