West Virginia Coach Bob Huggins Uses Homophobic Slurs on Radio Show (Published 2023)
West Virginia University said it is investigating homophobic comments made by men’s basketball coach Hall of Famer Bob Huggins during a live radio interview Monday and would address them at a later date.
Huggins appeared on Cincinnati station 700WLW’s “Bill Cunningham Show” to discuss his 16-season tenure at the University of Cincinnati and the school’s intracity rivalry with Xavier University. While recalling a Crosstown Shootout game between the schools, he twice called Xavier fans a homophobic slur, saying they would “throw rubber penises on the ground and say they didn’t do it.”
West Virginia said in a statement that Huggins’ comments were “insensitive and offensive” and did not represent the school’s values. The school “does not condone the use of such language and takes such actions very seriously. The situation is currently under review and will be addressed by the university and its athletics department.”
Asked whether Huggins, 69, would be allowed to continue recruiting and working during the review, a spokesman for the men’s basketball team referred to the university’s statement. Huggins did not respond to a text message asking if he had been disciplined by the university.
The summer recruiting season peaks in July. College coaches can host prospects for official and unofficial visits until May 18 and then again starting May 27. Coaches can’t go out recruiting until mid-June.
Huggins apologized before the university released its statement, saying he would “fully accept” the consequences of his comments.
“During the call, I used a completely insensitive and abhorrent phrase that simply cannot be excused — and I will not attempt to make one here,” Huggins said in a statement. “I sincerely apologize to those I offended, as well as to the communities of Xavier University, the University of Cincinnati, and West Virginia University.”
He did not appear at the planned West Virginia fundraiser in Wheeling, West Virginia, on Monday night. His longtime assistant, Ron Everhart, appeared instead.
“He had a conflict and can’t be here tonight,” West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker told local reporters.
Huggins has been coaching at West Virginia since 2007. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022 and is one of only six men’s coaches to reach 900 victories in Division I. A West Virginia alum, Huggins led the program to the Final Four in 2010, a feat the team hadn’t accomplished since the 1950s.
