Rising- his fine surely has very little to do with referencing Catholics, though I have no problem adding in the fact that Huggins shouldn't be saying offensive things to Catholics either. You want to call all of these things unrelated, but I do not believe they are.

1. Huggins is white- you want to pretend that plays no role in anything, but I disagree. Huggins race, like most white folks (me included) has surely played a role in his ability to gain connections and push his way up the ranks. And it surely plays a role in his comfort in using the offending words on the air. If you don't believe race has anything to do with the comfort of a man with a $4.2M a year job using those words on the air, we'll just have to agree to disagree.

2. Yes, people of other races use this word. I'm not dumb and I know lots of people from lots of communities use this word (even if it shouldn't be used). I'm not dumb enough to think that Huggins is the only basketball coach to use this word (of any race). He's the only coach dumb enough to use it on air in a radio spot. And the fact that he can keep his job after that is appalling. If other people are using that word in their professional lives, they should be fired too. If you're letting that stand without responding when you hear it, that's on you.

3. Any time money is involved in college athletics, I believe the issue of NIL and player payment should be discussed. Where is that million dollars the University just saved going to go? Is it going to go back to the basketball program so Huggins can keep succeeding as a coach? To his assistants to allow him to keep trying to succeed? To professors? I don't know- neither do you (I'm guessing you don't, though your assumptions would be more well educated than mine here). But I know where that money is NOT going. That money is NOT going to players. Huggins takes a 1M cut (leaving him with a lowly 3.2M for the year). He then gets to implore his (largely black) players to keep playing hard for him so that he can keep earning money, and hopefully succeed and make more money. Your belief that these things are not interconnected only stems from your willingness to ignore that players should be compensated (in cash) for making other people rich. This 1M fine is nothing off Huggins' back. It has relatively little impact on the University. It would have an impact on the student athletes that allow the school to earn enough money to pay a coach 4.2M (now 3.2M).

So yes, money makes all of these things connect. 

Gwmayhem wrote:

How about firing Huggins for what should have obviously been considered a fireable offense?  Thom Brennaman got fired for saying the same word (minus the attack towards Catholics).  And Brennaman was off-air when he made his remark (spoken into a hot mic), unlike Huggins who blurted it out twice over the radio airwaves. 

Dana O'Neil had a great column yesterday.  This boiled down to West Virginia weighing their coach's value to the university against committing a fireable offense.  Highly predictable that he kept his job.  Many non-HOF coaches would not have.

That $1 million that WVU will not be paying to Huggins?  Donate it to both LGBTQ causes and Catholic charities.  Pretty simple where that money should go.

Just where West Virginia taxpayers want their dollars going!

danjsport wrote:

Gwmayhem wrote:

How about firing Huggins for what should have obviously been considered a fireable offense?  Thom Brennaman got fired for saying the same word (minus the attack towards Catholics).  And Brennaman was off-air when he made his remark (spoken into a hot mic), unlike Huggins who blurted it out twice over the radio airwaves. 

Dana O'Neil had a great column yesterday.  This boiled down to West Virginia weighing their coach's value to the university against committing a fireable offense.  Highly predictable that he kept his job.  Many non-HOF coaches would not have.

That $1 million that WVU will not be paying to Huggins?  Donate it to both LGBTQ causes and Catholic charities.  Pretty simple where that money should go.

Just where West Virginia taxpayers want their dollars going!

Wow.  This misses the point rather badly.  FWIW, West Virginia taxpayers do not get a say on whether it's a good or bad idea to pay their head basketball coach $4.2 million annually, either.  Those groups who were aggrieved by the insensitive remarks ought to be the ones who are compensated.  

Let's get back to your suggestion for a moment.  The head coach fucks up, gets docked $1 million in pay, and his players subsequently receive a sizable extra reward for his screw-up?  Not too sure what to make of the type of message this would send to young adults?  

danjsport wrote:

Rising- his fine surely has very little to do with referencing Catholics, though I have no problem adding in the fact that Huggins shouldn't be saying offensive things to Catholics either. You want to call all of these things unrelated, but I do not believe they are.

1. Huggins is white- you want to pretend that plays no role in anything, but I disagree. Huggins race, like most white folks (me included) has surely played a role in his ability to gain connections and push his way up the ranks. And it surely plays a role in his comfort in using the offending words on the air. If you don't believe race has anything to do with the comfort of a man with a $4.2M a year job using those words on the air, we'll just have to agree to disagree.

2. Yes, people of other races use this word. I'm not dumb and I know lots of people from lots of communities use this word (even if it shouldn't be used). I'm not dumb enough to think that Huggins is the only basketball coach to use this word (of any race). He's the only coach dumb enough to use it on air in a radio spot. And the fact that he can keep his job after that is appalling. If other people are using that word in their professional lives, they should be fired too. If you're letting that stand without responding when you hear it, that's on you.

3. Any time money is involved in college athletics, I believe the issue of NIL and player payment should be discussed. Where is that million dollars the University just saved going to go? Is it going to go back to the basketball program so Huggins can keep succeeding as a coach? To his assistants to allow him to keep trying to succeed? To professors? I don't know- neither do you (I'm guessing you don't, though your assumptions would be more well educated than mine here). But I know where that money is NOT going. That money is NOT going to players. Huggins takes a 1M cut (leaving him with a lowly 3.2M for the year). He then gets to implore his (largely black) players to keep playing hard for him so that he can keep earning money, and hopefully succeed and make more money. Your belief that these things are not interconnected only stems from your willingness to ignore that players should be compensated (in cash) for making other people rich. This 1M fine is nothing off Huggins' back. It has relatively little impact on the University. It would have an impact on the student athletes that allow the school to earn enough money to pay a coach 4.2M (now 3.2M).

So yes, money makes all of these things connect. 

1. Yes, if you think being white had any role in this I don't know what to say. LGBTQ community and Catholics are predominantly white. No, Huggins was more comfortable because he is a HC of a major university making a lot of money and over the years has been used to people kissing his ass and agreeing with his every thought. It had nothing whatsoever to do with anything but that. Bigots come in all colors, sizes and shapes.

2. It is you making the connection that virtually no one else has made. But I will play. Why should that money go back to the individual athletes? Did they do something in connection with Huggins' statements? It's like saying that a speeding fine imposed by the state should be redistributed to selected certain individuals because they happened to be in the vicinity when the offender was pulled over. The money saved belongs to the University. Whether and where they choose to spend it or not is their business. I would remind you that that money ultimately belongs to the taxpayers of West Virginia as WVU is a publicly funded institution. Certain selected individuals who were not the target of the statement should not benefit.

danj, I'm not really sure that anyone would argue that: a) the college basketball coaching profession is a vastly overpaid one (not referring to lower-level assistants starting out but certainly true among many head coaches and Associate Head Coaches) and b) it would be nice in this day and age to allow players to receive more than a scholarship and ancillary expenses, given the extraordinary amounts of money that flow to the NCAA member schools and trickles down from there.  The issue though is that these things were true well before the Huggins incident.  You seem to be writing a cause and effect narrative that I don't believe exists.  Perhaps you can make a case that a black coach is less likely to display bigoted behavior and I'm willing to buy that.  But how many white coaches have displayed such ugly behavior?  Sure there are a few, but the vast majority have never been repimanded for bigoted behavior.  I'm more inclined to believe Rising's interpretation, that Huggins is a very successful coach who essentially has had nobody to answer to and has been blatantly coddled and pacified throughout his career than I am to suggest that hiss kin color had much to do with this.  Not when so many other white coaches have ever come close to approaching this line.

Let's also add that his suspension has been announced at three games.  Further proof that the powers that be at WVU care far more about  staying competitive and competing for championships than they are about doing the morally correct thing.

DUI …. .21 BAC

That should be the end of his career but in WVA who knows?

GWRising wrote:

DUI …. .21 BAC

That should be the end of his career but in WVA who knows?

Forget coaching, this is his third DUI.  He needs to go to jail before he kills someone.  I know 3 DUIs in Virginia is a minimum of a year in jail.  He’s lucky they were in different states.

Plus, you know how much a guy his size has to drink to blow a .21?  Crazy amounts.

What kind of a university has on its facutly a homophobe who never graduates anyone while repeatedly getting caught driving drunk? WVU, the ball is in your court...

Last edited by GW Alum Abroad (6/17/2023 7:19 pm)

This should be interesting:

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/37991587/bob-huggins-says-write-resignation-statement