Corine Gatti, Headline USA) West Virginia University men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins is in hot water after calling rivals a gay slur during a May 8 interview on the “Bill Cunningham Show.”
Here’s the audio, with context, of Bob Huggins on 700WLW today
— Ethan Bock (@ethanbock_) May 8, 2023
Huggins used the pejorative in reference to rival Xavier University after saying that “any school that can throw rubber penises on the floor and then say they didn’t do it, my God, they can get away with anything,” the Daily Caller reported.
In turn, Cunningham questioned if the incident was a transgender night. Huggins responded it “was all those fags, those Catholic fags, I think.”
Huggins was ordered to undergo sensitivity training and received a $1 million pay cut, in addition to a three-game suspension, with more conditions for the coach to follow if he wants to keep his job with the Mountaineers.
Huggins is also expected to meet with “LGBTQ+ leaders” at the school, said a joint statement from WVU President E. Gordon Gee and Athletic Director Wren Baker.
“We expect Coach Huggins, in accordance with these partners, to engage in additional opportunities to show support for the LGBTQ+ community,” it said.
Funds deducted from Huggins’s salary will go to WVU’s Carruth Center, which offers counseling and psychological services, as well as other organizations that support marginalized communities.
The university also will partner with two local gay activist groups, Fairness WV and Morgantown Pride.
Additionally, Huggins will make a donation to Xavier University to support its Center for Faith and Justice, and its Center for Diversity and Inclusion after his remarks disparaging the Catholic faith.
In a statement released to the media, Huggins acknowledged his mistake and offered his deepest apologies to those he had insulted, including the Xavier University community and West Virginia University.
He expressed that there was simply no excuse for his insensitive language, and he fully accepted any consequences that may come his way.
“I am ashamed and embarrassed and heartbroken for those I have hurt. I must do better, and I will,” he said.
The university statement indicated that additional incidents of misconduct from the coach will result in the termination of his position. It also changed Huggins’s contract from a long-term agreement to a yearly one that started on May 10 and will end on April 30, 2024.
The 69-year-old coach, who played for three season at WVU, has more than 900 wins at the collegiate level and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last year.
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