West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins apologized Monday after he used homophobic slurs to refer to Xavier fans in a radio interview while slurring Catholics.
The West Virginia Department of Athletics called Huggins’ comments “offensive” and said it would look into the matter.
During a call to Cincinnati radio station WLW, Huggins, a former longtime Cincinnati coach, was asked about the transfer portal and if he had a chance of signing a player from Xavier, a Jesuit school and the Bearcats’ crosstown rival.
“Catholics don’t do that,” Huggins said. “I’ll tell you what, any school that can throw rubber penises on the floor and then say they didn’t, by God, they can get away with anything.
“It was the Crosstown Shootout. What it was was all these (swear words), these Catholics (swear words), I think.”
Later Monday, Huggins issued a statement saying he used “a completely insensitive and vile phrase for which there is simply no excuse – and I’m not going to try to make one here.” My deepest apologies to those I have offended and to the community at Xavier University, the University of Cincinnati, and West Virginia University.
“As I have shared with my players in my 40 years as a coach, there are consequences to our words and actions and I will fully accept whatever comes my way. I’m ashamed and embarrassed and heartbroken for those I’ve hurt. I have to do better and I will.”
In a separate statement, the West Virginia Department of Athletics said Huggins’ comments were “insensitive, offensive and do not represent the values of our university. Coach Huggins has since apologized. West Virginia University does not condone the use of such language and takes such actions very seriously. The situation is currently being reviewed and addressed by the university and its athletics department.”
Huggins spent 16 seasons in Cincinnati before being fired in 2005 in a power struggle with the school president and after a 2004 arrest for drunk driving. In 2007, after spending a season at Kansas State, Huggins took his dream job at West Virginia, his alma mater.
Huggins was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last year.
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