Cal Coach Mike Montgomery Shoves Player Allen Crabbe for 'Motivation' [VIDEO]: Bears All-Star Angry, Coach Apologizes for 'Inappropriate' Actions

During a heated battle on the court between the California Golden Bears and the USC Trojans on Sunday (Feb. 17), Cal head coach Mike Montgomery called an emotional timeout, where he ended up giving star player Allen Crabbe a little shove for motivation... which the popular All-Conference guard wasn't too happy about. Crabbe escaped to the locker room to calm down, and eventually came back out to lead his team to a 76-68 victory over USC. Although Crabbe eventually forgave Coach Montgomery for his rather harsh attempt at "pumping his star player up," the Cal head coach later made an official apology for his actions "overly-emotional and inappropriate" actions.

At the beginning of the second quarter with the score 44-32 (with USC leading), Coach Montgomery called a timeout... and while the players began hustling to the huddle, Montgomery confronted Crabbe with a rather hash push to the chest. Some heated words were exchanged, and fellow teammate Richard Soloman escorted Crabbe to the locker rooms to chill out. Check out the footage:

Crabbe eventually made his way back out on the court, leading California to a comeback victory. The All-Star scored 10 points in the last five minutes of the game, and the Bears finished on a 25-7 run. Crabbe finished with 10 rebounds, scoring a total of 23 points.

Following the game, Montgomery admitted to reporters that he had intentionally shoved Crabbe. The coach told Yahoo! Sports, “Nobody was ready to play … We were just standing. I was trying to get him going. Probably over-exaggerated it.”

Although initially angry, Crabbe eventually let the little exchange go - “It was coach’s way of motivating me … Everything’s fine. It’s under the bridge. No hard feelings," he said.

Coach Montgomery and California athletics director Sandy Barbour later released these official statements, as reported by USA Today:

Barbour: “Sunday’s game was an emotional one for everyone who cares deeply about our men’s basketball program, and the Bears certainly showed tremendous resolve coming back to earn a win over USC. However, it is unacceptable for our coaches to have physical contact with student-athletes regardless of the circumstances. The second-half incident was certainly out of character for Mike Montgomery, and I am confident that something like this will not happen again.”

Montgomery: “I have great passion for this game and tonight, I let my emotions get away from me in the heat of the moment. While my intent was to motivate our student-athletes, my behavior was inappropriate and I apologize for my actions.”

So what do readers think - did Montgomery have the right as a coach to physically approach a player like that?