Bob Huggins takes $1 million in salary reduction for anti-gay slur

West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins has been handed a million-dollar salary reduction and three-game suspension after using an anti-gay slur earlier this week, the school announced Wednesday afternoon.

Huggins has also agreed to sensitivity training. His contract has been amended from a multiyear deal to a year-by-year agreement, which will be begin May 10, 2023, and end April 30, 2024. The $1 million reduction brings his annual salary down to $3.2 million.

It is believed to be one of the biggest salary reductions in college athletics. The $1 million is expected to go towards the institution’s LGBTQ+ Center, the Carruth Center and “other state and national organizations that support marginalized communities.”

The decision came almost two days after the Hall of Fame head coach appeared on News Radio 700 WLW in Cincinnati on Monday, where he recalled an incident with host Bill Cunningham when “rubber penises” were thrown on the floor of a Crosstown Shootout between Cincinnati and Xavier. Huggins coached the Bearcats from 1989 to 2005.

He then said, “What it was, was all thos f-gs, those Catholic f-gs, I think.”

In his statement released Wednesday, West Virginia president E. Gordon Gee sent a clear 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,” Gee said.

Bob Huggins suggested and has agreed to make a substantial donation to Xavier to support the university’s Center for Faith and Justice and its Center for Diversity and Inclusion. 

His sensitivity training will call for the West Virginia’s athletic department to partner with the WVU LGBTQ+ Center to develop training sessions to address, “will aspects of inequality including homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism and more,” according to the release. Huggins and every athletics coaching staff member, current and future, will participate in the training.

The head coach will be required to meet with LGBTQ+ leaders from across West Virginia. He will be expected to engage in additional opportunities to support the LGBTQ+ community.

Across his 38 seasons as a college basketball coach, Huggins has compiled a 863-389 record. He’s taken his teams to the NCAA tournament 26 times, including two trips to the Final Four.

In a statement released Wednesday, Huggins said “I am sorry for the hurt and distress I have caused our students and our student-athletes. I represent more than just our University and our basketball program, and it pains me to know that I have let so many people down.”

He also added: “West Virginia and West Virginia University are my home. I love this University and know first-hand that the education and experiences students receive here make a difference. I am truly sorry for the damage I have done. And I am grateful for the chance to move forward in a way that positively represents this University and our state.”