(670 The Score) Is it time to get rid of the postgame handshake for good? That's been a hot topic of conversation since the Michigan-Wisconsin basketball game Sunday, when an altercation between Wolverines coach Juwan Howard and Badgers coach Greg Gard led to a physical on-court scuffle, which featured Howard hitting a Wisconsin assistant and getting a five-game suspension.
While some have argued the handshake line is an unnecessary and outdated tradition, others -- like Illinois coach Brad Underwood -- believe getting rid of it would be a mistake. Speaking on the Mully and Haugh Show on 670 The Score on Tuesday morning, Underwood explained why.
"I think it'd be a negative effect, we need to keep the handshake line," Underwood said. "Who are we? I'm a teacher, I'm an educator. That's what we are. We get too much credit, too much negative stuff. We're here to help young people grow. Life is competition. Sometimes the other team's got more points, and you shake their hands, and they kicked your butt, and you move on. But you always shake the other guy's hand. I think that's the way it's always been ... To give everybody a cop-out and say we shouldn't shake somebody's hand when we compete against them? That's all it is, a cop-out and an excuse, to make another reason why we don't educate young people today. We give them every other out. So I'm 100% against that. I think you teach them life lessons. It's not just about basketball."
You can listen to Underwood's entire interview in the embedded player below.
