Tom Izzo came under fire for ripping into one of his players during Michigan State’s first-round NCAA Tournament win over Bradley on Thursday, and you will not be surprised to hear how Charles Barkley feels about the topic.
Barkley opened up CBS Sports’ tournament coverage on Friday by defending Izzo, ripping “jackasses on other networks” for making it a “national emergency” every time a coach yells at a player.
Barkley on Izzo – “jackasses on other networks” haha I concur !!! pic.twitter.com/v5cksYy3Pi
— Scott Dryden (@BrownsScout) March 22, 2019
“Coach Izzo, you keep doing your thing,” Barkley said. “It’s alright for a coach to yell at a player.”
Izzo aggressively got in Aaron Henry’s face following a 10-0 Michigan State run against Bradley, and he needed to be held back while screaming at the freshman. Some felt he crossed the line.
Tom Izzo goes after Aaron Henry pretty hard. pic.twitter.com/A4KUMT6XWa
— Jordan Heck (@JordanHeckFF) March 21, 2019
Izzo did not apologize after the game, noting that he unloaded on Henry because of a lack of effort. Several current and former Michigan State players have since come to his defense the same way Barkley did.
