West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins will NOT be fired for calling Xavier basketball fans “Catholic f**s” on the radio show…
- Huggins has apologized for comments that were considered offensive by some
- The WVU coach used the description several times during the radio interview
- DailyMail. com provides all the latest international sports news
Bob Huggins will not be fired despite calls for his proverbial head after he called Xavier basketball fans “Catholic f***” during a radio interview.
Huggins used the derogatory language several times this week during an interview with Cincinnati radio.
According to Pete Thamel, ESPN sports reporter, Huggins and WVU are ‘determining details’ for a return to Morgantown. It includes a “suspension, $1 million pay cut and sensitivity training.”
Before becoming the second winningest coach in West Virginia basketball history, Huggins was head coach at the University of Cincinnati from 1989-2005. The 69-year-old was inducted into the Hall of Fame last September. Cincinnati and Xavier are both rivals in the same city and participate in the ‘Crosstown Shootout’ every year.
Speaking on Bill Cunningham’s WLW radio showHuggins referred to a time when Xavier fans “(threw) rubber penises on the floor and then (said) they didn’t, by God, they can get away with anything.”
West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins will not be fired this week, despite calls for his job
The WVU coach laughed at Xavier fans – who share a fierce rivalry with his old team, CIN
Huggins issued an apology via the WVU men’s basketball account on Monday
After the radio host joked that it must have been “transgender night,” Huggins then said, “It was a Crosstown Shootout, yeah, no, what it was was all those motherfuckers, those Catholic motherfuckers I guess” before joking that they had those items threw because “they were jealous they didn’t have one.”
The radio hosts laughed at Huggins’ statement, adding, “Isn’t he the best?”
Huggins later apologized via the WVU men’s basketball Twitter account, saying, “Earlier today on a Cincinnati radio show, I was asked about the rivalry between my former employer, the University of Cincinnati, and its crosstown rival, Xavier University.”
“During the conversation I used a completely insensitive and abhorrent phrase that there’s just no excuse for — and I’m not going to try to make one here.
“I sincerely apologize to those I have offended, as well as the Xavier University community, the University of Cincinnati, and West Virginia University.
“As I have shared coaching with my players for over 40 years, there are consequences for our words and actions, and I will fully accept anything that comes my way.
“I am ashamed and ashamed and heartbroken for those I have hurt. I have to do better, and I will.’
Huggins has the most wins in Cincinnati men’s basketball history with 399 over a 16-year tenure. He then coached for a season at Kansas State before taking the job at his alma mater West Virginia in 2008.
