What did Bob Huggins say? Will he be punished for using homophobic slurs in an interview?
Though he may have apologized for his comments, it’s fair to say that West Virginia’s coach is going to have to work to do to repair the damage done.
It’s one thing to engage in some banter when talking about your opponent, but it’s something different to use discriminatory language. Will there be action taken against West Virginia’s coach? Regardless, he’ll certainly have some making up to do.
West Virginia’s Bob Huggins used homophobic language
Following a recent racial faux pas during an Oakland A’s game by veteran commentator Glen Kuiper, we can now add West Virginia coach Bob Huggins to the list of people who should watch what they say, when speaking in live broadcast situations. During an interview on a Cincinnati radio station on Monday, Huggins was asked whether he had tried to snag Xavier players out of the transfer portal. In his response to the question, Huggins twice used derogatory slurs while referring to the Catholic fanbase of the team.
*Be advised the audio below contains language that some may find graphic and offensive.*
⚠️ 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 tell ya what, any school that can throw rubber penises on the floor and then say they didn’t do it? By god, they could get away with anything,” Huggins said. “Was this at the Crosstown Shootout?” he was asked by the hosts. “It was transgender night, wasn’t it? “It was the crosstown shootout. Yeah, what it was was all those f---, those Catholic f---, I think,” he said before a period of dead air which brought the interview to a close. While there has been no official word on if Huggins will face any consequences for his words, he did in fact offer an apology on Monday evening.
What did Bob Huggins say in his apology?
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Regardless of where you stand on Huggins, we can at the very least say that he’s conscious that what he said was not appropriate to say the least. In a statement which he released, the coach admitted that he had crossed a line, while also stating he is ready to accept any punishment that is forthcoming.
— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) May 8, 2023
All too familiar with Xavier having been the coach at Cincinnati from 1989-2005, Huggins is the winningest active coach in the college game today with a career record of 935-414. Prior to his appointment as West Virginia’s coach, he also spent time as head of Kansas State’s team.