West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins apologized Monday for using an anti-gay slur during a radio interview.
Huggins apologized in a statement released through the school, saying in part he used “a completely insensitive and abhorrent phrase that there is simply no excuse for.” He added “there are consequences for our words and actions, and I will fully accept any coming my way.”
Huggins used the term during an appearance on the “Bill Cunningham Show” on radio station 700WLW in Cincinnati.
During the interview, Huggins was asked by one of the hosts if he had “poached” any Xavier players through the transfer portal. Xavier University is located in Cincinnati.
“Catholics don’t do that,” Huggins said during the interview. “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.”
Huggins then used the slur while referring to the Xavier fans.
“Coach Huggins’ remarks today on a Cincinnati radio show were insensitive, offensive and do not represent our University values. Coach Huggins has since apologized,” West Virginia University said in a statement. “West Virginia University 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.”
Huggins was the coach at Cincinnati — Xavier’s crosstown rival — for 16 seasons (1989-2005), leading the Bearcats to 14 consecutive NCAA Tournaments and one Final Four in 1992. He then spent one season at Kansas State before moving to West Virginia in 2007. He has posted a career record of 935-414.