Huggins Use of Homophobic Slur Against Xavier Fans on Radio Show
In college basketball news and rumors, one of the longest-tenured coaches in NCAA men’s basketball is under fire. West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins has been suspended for three games and will lose $1 million in salary reductions due to the use of a homophobic slur when talking about Xavier University fans.
According to college basketball news the controversy came when Huggins appeared on 700WLW’s “Bill Cunningham Show” in Cincinnati where he had some choice of words for fans of Xavier.
⚠️ Here’s the audio of Bob Huggins calling Xavier fans “Catholic f–s” during an appearance on Bill Cunningham’s WLW radio show in Cincinnati pic.twitter.com/JTftGx9rQE
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 8, 2023
“I’ll tell you what, any school that can throw rubber penises on the floor and then say they didn’t do it, by God, they can get away with anything,” Huggins said. “It was the Crosstown Shootout. What it was was all those f–s, those Catholic f–s. They were envious they didn’t have one.“
Xavier is a Jesuit Catholic university in Cincinnati and the reason Huggins has beef with them is due to his time as the head coach at the University of Cincinnati, which is where the penis incident he mentioned stemmed from. We’re in a time where people are losing their jobs for less, so Huggins is very fortunate to be able to keep his job.
For his part, he was quick to apologize and is in the process of trying to learn from his mistakes. $1M fine will make you learn from your mistakes.
“West Virginia and West Virginia University are my home,” Huggins said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital at college basketball news today. “I love this University and know first-hand that the education and experiences students receive here make a difference. I am truly sorry for the damage I have done. And I am grateful for the chance to move forward in a way that positively represents this University and our state.“
Bob Huggins has released a statement. pic.twitter.com/9ZwHoww8JA
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 8, 2023
West Virginia University Keeps Coach Bob Huggins Despite Homophobic Slur
On the other hand, West Virginia University was not happy with the language used by Huggins as they have the highest percentage of transgender youth in the nation, per the Williams Institute as the school expressed in a statement. However, they have decided to keep him around but there’s no doubt his leash will be quite short. The suspension is just the first thing Huggins will have to overcome.
West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins apologized on Monday after using an anti-gay slur in an interview with a Cincinnati radio station.
The incident is under review, according to a statement made by the university. https://t.co/bTTzO8DGQP
— ESPN (@espn) May 8, 2023
He will also need to get public perception back on his side. Another incident like this could result in him losing his job permanently. Huggins has been coaching men’s basketball at West Virginia since 2007 and is currently the winningest active head coach in NCAA D-I basketball. He is also a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He’ll have to choose his words much more carefully going forward.
