West Virginia coach Bob Huggins twice used a homophobic slur in a radio interview Monday when asked if he recruited — and tried to poach — Xavier players out of the transfer gate. Huggins was interviewed on Cincinnati radio station WLW 700-AM when hosts Bill Cunningham and Steve Mueller asked if Xavier players had popped up on his radar in building his roster via the transfer gate, and he twice resorted to using slurs while insulting Catholicism. fan base.
“I tell you what, what school can throw rubber rods on the floor and then say they didn’t? God they can get away with anything,” Huggins said. The sound obtained by an awful advertisement. (Warning: the sound may be considered graphic.)
“Was this at the Crosstown Shootout?” asked by the hosts. “It was transgender night, right?”
Huggins said, “It was a shootout in Cruztown. Yeah, what it was, it was all these Catholics, I think.”
The segment ended with some awkward dead air and some laughter before the hosts quipped that Huggins was “the best.”
Huggins apologized in a statement Monday afternoon.
“Earlier today on a radio show in Cincinnati, I was asked about the competition between my former employer, the University of Cincinnati, and its crosstown rival, Xavier University,” Huggins said in the statement. “During the conversation, I used a completely hateful and insensitive phrase that there simply is no excuse for it — and I’m not going to attempt to make one here. I deeply apologize to the individuals I offended, as well as to the community of Xavier University, the University of Cincinnati and West Virginia University. I have also shared with my players over the past 40 years From training, there are consequences to our words and actions, and I will fully accept anything that comes my way. I feel ashamed, embarrassed, and sad for those I hurt. I have to do better, and I will.”
Huggins was a longtime rival of Xavier as head coach at Cincinnati from 1989-2005 before moving to Kansas State and then to West Virginia. With a career overall record of 935-414, Huggins has the most wins of all active coaches.
“Coach Huggins’ remarks today on a radio show in Cincinnati were insensitive, offensive, and did not represent the values of our university. Coach Huggins has since apologized,” the university said in a statement. “WVU does not condone the use of such language and takes such actions seriously. The situation is under review and will be addressed by the university and the athletics department.”