NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 11: Bob Huggins, head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers, looks on during the Big East Quarterfinal College Basketball Championship game against the Cincinnati Bearcats on March 11, 2010 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
West Virginia University announced Wednesday that it was suspending men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins for homophobic comments he made at a press conference Monday. Huggins’ contract has also been amended to a year-by-year agreement while he receives additional training.
“On Monday, May 8, Head Men’s Basketball Coach Bob Huggins was interviewed on a Cincinnati radio show where he used derogatory and offensive language,” WVU’s statement read. “It was inexcusable. It was a moment that unfairly and inappropriately hurt many people and has tarnished West Virginia University.”
As a result of Huggins’ statements, the university will suspend Huggins for the first three games of the 2023-24 season. In addition to amendments in his contract, he will also be docked $1 million. Those funds will now go toward a number of internal and external organizations seeking to assist marginalized groups.
Huggins and the team will now have to go through a number of different training programs geared toward promoting tolerance and understanding for LGBTQ+ groups. In a statement, Huggins said that he will embrace this process.
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“I am looking forward to working with WVU’s LGBTQ+ Center and other state organizations to learn more about the issues facing the community,” Huggins said. “As a leader, I am eager to use my platform to take what I learn and share it with a broader audience.”
Huggins also “personally volunteered” to make a donation to Xavier University’s Center for Faith and Justice after making disparaging remarks about the university and the Catholic faith.
“We will never truly know the damage that has been done by the words said in those 90 seconds,” the university’s 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.”
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