West Virginia University (WVU) basketball coach Bob Huggins will undergo sensitivity training and receive a $1 million pay cut in addition to a three game suspension after he used “derogatory and offensive language” during a radio interview, the university announced on Wednesday.
Huggins used the word “fags” in reference to Xavier University students when discussing the rivalry between the school and the University of Cincinnati, his former employer, during a May 8 interview on the “Bill Cunningham Show,” according to ESPN. University President E. Gordon Gee and Athletic Director Wren Baker unveiled the list of repercussions in a joint statement, during which they called the remarks “inexcusable” and alleged they “tarnished” the university. (RELATED: Absolutely Insane: AAU Basketball Coach Throws Punch At Referee)
The university LGBTQ+ Center will “develop annual training sessions that will address all aspects of inequality including homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism and more,” that Huggins and current and future athletic staff will attend, according to the statement. Huggins will also meet with state “LGBTQ+ leaders” to “show support for the LGBTQ+ community.”
Huggins’ salary, which was set at $4.15 million, according to The Associated Press, will be reduced by $1 million and he will sit out the first three games of the 2023-2024 regular season. The money taken from his salary will be donated to the university LGBTQ Center, the Carruth Center, which focuses on counseling and psychological services, and other organizations that help “marginalized communities,” according to the statement.
“We will never truly know the damage that has been done by the words said in those 90 seconds,” the statement read. “Words matter and they can leave scars that can never be seen. But words can also heal. And by taking this moment to learn more about another’s perspective, speak respectfully and lead with understanding, perhaps the words “do better” will lead to meaningful change for all.”
The remark was used after he said on the radio show 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,” according to ESPN. Cunningham then asked if the incident was “transgender night,” to which Huggins responded it “was all those fags, those Catholic fags, I think.”
He was quick to issue an apology, sharing that he “used a completely insensitive and abhorrent phrase that there is simply no excuse for.”
“I deeply apologize to the individuals I have offended, as well as to the Xavier University community, the University of Cincinnati and West Virginia University,” he continued. “As I have shared with my players over my 40 years of coaching, there are consequences for our words and actions, and I will fully accept [anything] coming my way. I am ashamed and embarrassed and heartbroken for those I have hurt. I must do better, and I will.”
— Bob Huggins (@CoachHuggs) May 8, 2023
Additional incidents will result in termination, according to the university statement. Huggins’ contract will change to a yearly agreement.
WVU did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. Huggins was not available for comment.
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