WVU's Huggins handed 3-game suspension, $1M salary reduction after slur

“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. It was inexcusable,� the statement said. “It was a moment that unfairly and inappropriately hurt many people and has tarnished West Virginia University.

“It is also a moment that provides the opportunity for learning. A moment that can shine a light on the injustice and hate that often befall the members of our marginalized communities. While the University has never and will never condone the language used on Monday, we will use this moment to educate how the casual use of inflammatory language and implicit bias affect our culture, our community and our health and well-being.�

Huggins will see a $1 million salary reduction from $4.2 million to $3.2 million, with that money going to directly support WVU’s LGBTQ+ Center, the Carruth Center and other state and national organizations that support marginalized communities. WVU said it will seek input from those organizations on how best to use the funds.

Huggins also volunteered to make a donation to Xavier University to support its Center for Faith and Justice and its Center for Diversity and Inclusion. The amount of that donation was not disclosed.

His contract has been amended from a multi-year agreement to a year-by-year agreement that began Wednesday and ends April 30, 2024. Any incidents of similar derogatory and offensive language will result in immediate termination, according to the statement.

Huggins’ suspension is for the first three regular-season games of the 2023-24 season.

In a statement Wednesday, Huggins said he is “looking forward to working with WVU’s LGBTQ+ Center and other state organizations� and that he is eager to use his platform to share what he learns with a broader audience. He also expressed remorse for his comments regarding Xavier.

“Over the past 48 hours, I have reflected on the awful words that I shared on a radio program earlier this week,� the coach said. “I deeply regret my actions, the hurt they unfairly caused others and the negative attention my words have brought to West Virginia University.

“I also regret the embarrassment and disappointment it has caused our athletics family, members of our campus community and the state of West Virginia. I am sorry for the hurt and distress I have caused our students and our student-athletes. I represent more than just our university and our basketball program, and it pains me to know that I have let so many people down.

“I have no excuse for the language I used, and I take full responsibility. I will abide with the actions outlined by the university and athletics leadership to learn from this incident. I have had several conversations with colleagues and friends that I deeply respect and admire over the last 24 hours, and I am keenly aware of the pain that I have caused. I meant what I wrote on Monday — I will do better.�

The Mountaineers, who went 19-15 overall, 7-11 in the Big 12 and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament last season, open the season at home against Missouri State on Nov. 6. WVU will then play Monmouth on Nov. 10 and Jacksonville State on Nov. 14, before heading to Florida for the Fort Myers Tip-Off, where the team will play two games. Virginia, Wisconsin and SMU also will be at the event, but match-ups have not been announced.

WVU’s Athletics Department will partner with the university’s LGBTQ+ Center to develop annual training sessions to address all aspects of inequality, including homophobia, transphobia, sexism and ableism. Those training sessions will be required of all current and future athletics coaching staff.

Huggins also will be required to meet with LGBTQ+ leaders across the state and must meet with leadership from WVU’s Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services to better understand the mental health crisis facing its college students, 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 from Gee and Baker said. “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.�

Huggins has been the coach at WVU since 2007, and is the winningest active Division I coach in the country. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year.

The coach, who compiled a 399-127 record at Xavier’s rival, Cincinnati, from 1989-2005, was asked during an interview Monday on radio station 700 WLW’s “The Bill Cunningham Show� about the transfer portal class he has assembled, which is largely considered one of the top in the nation, and if he had “poached any Xavier guys to come play for West Virginia.�

“Catholics don’t do that,� Huggins said.

He then added: “I tell you what: Any school that can throw rubber penises on the floor and then say they didn’t do it, by God they can get away with anything. ... What it was was all those f**s, those Catholic f**s, I think was what it was.�

Huggins issued a statement Monday apologizing for the “completely insensitive and abhorrent phrase that there is simply no excuse for,� and vowing that “I must do better, and I will.� He said in the statement that he would “fully accept� the consequences for his words and actions.

“West Virginia and West Virginia University are my home,� Huggins said in Wednesday’s statement. “I love this University and know first-hand that the education and experiences students receive here make a difference. I am truly sorry for the damage I have done. And I am grateful for the chance to move forward in a way that positively represents this University and our state.�