West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins will not lose his job, but he will pay a price for uttering an anti-gay slur Monday on a Cincinnati radio station.
He will forfeit $1 million from his $4.2 million annual salary and face a three-game suspension, according to a statement released Wednesday by WVU President E. Gordon Gee and athletic director Wren Baker.
The funds from Huggins’ salary reduction will go toward WVU’s LGBTQ+ Center, the Carruth Center and other state and national organizations that support marginalized communities, the statement read.
Huggins’ multi-year contract will be amended to a one-year deal that will expire April 30, 2024. The suspension will be in effect for the first three games next season.
In addition, Huggins will be required to undergo sensitivity training and meet with LGBTQ+ leaders from across the state.
WVU will partner with the LGBTQ+ Center to develop annual sessions that will address inequality concerns, the statement read. Huggins and all current and future WVU coaches will be required to participate in the training.
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“We want to partner with ACLU-WV, Fairness WV, Morgantown Pride and other organizations to elevate the conversation regarding the issues that affect our state,” the statement read.
West Virginia has the highest percentage of transgender youth in the nation, according to the Williams Institute, an organization that conducts research on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy.
In response, the LGBTQ+ Center at WVU said: “We will use this as an opportunity to strengthen and build bridges, and we look forward to working closely with Coach Huggins and WVU administration to continue improving our campus climate, especially for our students and student-athletes, and to bring increased awareness and education of this important issue to people across the state.”
The statement said Huggins’ remarks during an interview on News Radio 700 WLW in Cincinnati were “inexcusable.”
“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.
“We also take seriously the disparaging way in which the Catholic faith was characterized in the comments.
During the 90-second interview, Huggins, 69, discussed an incident with the host where Huggins recalled “rubber penises” were thrown on the floor of a Crosstown Shootout game between Cincinnati and Xavier. Huggins is a former Cincinnati coach.
Huggins said, “What it was, was all those (expletive), those Catholic (expletives), I think.”
The university’s statement said Huggins “personally volunteered and WVU agrees that he will make a substantial donation to Xavier University to support its Center for Faith and Justice and its Center for Diversity and Inclusion.”
Finally, the university issued this warning to Huggins:
“We have made it explicitly clear to coach Huggins that any incidents of similar derogatory and offensive language will result in immediate termination.”
Huggins, a Hall of Fame coach with an 863-389 record at four schools, has been West Virginia’s coach since 2007. He has a record of 345-203 with WVU, including 11 NCAA tournament berths and a trip to the 2010 Final Four.
