Bob Huggins: West Virginia coach uses homophobic slur during radio interview
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Bob Huggins used a homophobic slur during a radio appearance on Monday.
The head coach of the West Virginia men's basketball team used the slur while talking about Xavier University fans. Huggins was on with Bill Cunningham, a sports talk radio host in Cincinnati. The incident was first reported by Awful Announcing.
"Yeah what it was was all those (expletive), those Catholic (expletive.) They were envious they didn't have one," Huggins said Monday when talking about Xavier fans reportedly throwing explicit objects on the court when he was the coach at Cincinnati.
⚠️ 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
Hours after the interview, Huggins posted an apology on Twitter, saying in part:
"There are consequences for our words and actions, and I will fully accept any coming my way."
— Bob Huggins (@CoachHuggs) May 8, 2023
West Virginia Athletics said Huggins' comments are "under review and will be addressed by the university and its athletic department."
"Coach Huggins' remarks today on a Cincinnati radio show were insensitive, offensive and do not represent our University values," the statement said. "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 under review and will be addressed by the University and its athletics department."
Statement by WVU Athletics. pic.twitter.com/BGGAErDU22
— WVU Sports (@WVUSports) May 8, 2023
Huggins has coached at West Virginia since 2007. He coached at Cincinnati from 1989-90 through 2004-05.