West Virginia Coach Bob Huggins Uses Homophobic Slur on Radio Show
West Virginia University said it was reviewing and would later address the homophobic comments that its men’s basketball coach, the Hall of Famer Bob Huggins, made on Monday during a live radio interview.
Appearing on the Cincinnati station 700WLW’s “Bill Cunningham Show,” Huggins was discussing his 16-season tenure with the University of Cincinnati and the school’s intracity rivalry with Xavier University.
In recalling a Crosstown Shootout game between the schools, he twice called Xavier fans a homophobic slur, saying they would “throw rubber penises on the floor and then say they didn’t do it.” In a statement, West Virginia said that Huggins’s remarks “were insensitive, offensive” and did not represent its values.
The school “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.” Asked if Huggins, 69, would be permitted to continue recruiting and working during the review, a spokesman for the men’s basketball team referred to the university’s statement.
