WVU men's basketball coach Bob Huggins apologizes for using homophobic slur on radio show

West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins apologized for using a homophobic slur multiple times during a Cincinnati radio appearance Monday.

Huggins appeared on 700 WLW’s Bill Cunningham Show to talk about his time as Cincinnati coach and its rivalry with Xavier. According to clips of the conversation that surfaced on social media, Huggins was asked if Xavier players were transferring to West Virginia, to which he responded, “Catholics don’t do that.”

He then referred to when fans threw “rubber penises on the floor and then say they didn’t do it" and called Xavier fans a homophobic slur, and repeated it, when the host asked if that occurred on transgender night. The hosts went on to say Huggins “is the best ever.”

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"Earlier today on a Cincinnati radio program, 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 is simply no excuse for — and I won’t try to make one here," Huggins said in a statement released through the university.

“I deeply apologize to the individuals I have offended, as well as to the Xavier University community, the University of Cincinnati and West Virginia University. As I have shared with my players over my 40 years of coaching, there are consequences for our words and actions, and I will fully accept any coming my way. I am ashamed and embarrassed and heartbroken for those I have hurt. I must do better, and I will.”

Huggins was the head coach for the Bearcats from 1989-2005. After one season at Kansas State, Huggins became the Mountaineers coach in 2007. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in September 2022. He is currently the active leader in Division 1 with 863 wins.

West Virginia athletics said in a statement the situation "is under review" and will be addressed by the university and athletic department.

"Coach Huggins’ remarks today on a Cincinnati radio show were insensitive, offensive and do not represent our University values," the statement read. "West Virginia University does not condone the use of such language and takes such actions very seriously."