Turns out, it was Huggins who screwed up. “I got people who think I should stay on for quite a while, and there’s people probably thinking I ought to pack it in and let some young kid come in and screw it up.” I got the same situation going on,” Huggins said. “You probably got people who enjoy reading what you write, and there’s people who say I wouldn’t read a damn thing he writes. We're certainly not optimistic that sensitivity training - another of the sanctions ordered by his employer - will suddenly transform the 69-year-old Huggins into a warm, caring figure.Īfter West Virginia's most recent season ended at the NCAA Tournament with a first-round loss to Maryland, I got a chance to ask Huggins how long he intended to coach. Sorry, it's not sending the right message to reduce Huggins' annual salary from $4.5 million to $3.5 million and have him miss three largely meaningless games. Sadly, there's a bigger issue at play here.Īfter years of showing more sensitivity toward the pain caused by offensive verbiage, our entire society seems to be falling back into some bad, old habits. “It’s my job to be prepared and know the backgrounds of the players and I blew it.” “This is totally on me and I sincerely apologize to Zach, the Golden Knights, their fans and everyone else for what I said,” Anderson said in a statement. Whitecloud is the first member of Canada's Sioux Valley Dakota Nation to play in the NHL. Then there's ESPN anchor John Anderson, who thought it would be funny to say - right in the middle of “SportsCenter,” mind you - the last name of Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud sounded like toilet paper. Kuiper apologized and claimed he inadvertently mangled the word - a explanation that was met with plenty of skepticism, especially from people of color who've been subjected to it far too many times. Oakland Athletics broadcaster Glen Kuiper has been suspended indefinitely while his employer conducts a review of him using a racial epithet while describing a visit to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City before a game against the Royals. Huggins' comments were part of a busy week for offensive words. And by taking this moment to learn more about another’s perspective, speak respectfully and lead with understanding, perhaps the words ‘do better’ will lead to meaningful change for all.” “Words matter and they can leave scars that can never be seen," the statement went on. “We will never truly know the damage that has been done by the words said in those 90 seconds,” West Virginia University President Gordon Gee and athletic director Wren Baker said in a statement that, fortunately for them, wasn't delivered in person so they didn't have to keep a straight face. Instead, the guys who are supposed to be in charge tried to persuade everyone that Huggins can teach a more important lesson by remaining on the sideline. This was a chance for West Virginia to show that words do matter. And, frankly, we're not the least bit persuaded he won't do it again, except to make sure he's not on the air with thousands of people listening. It was clear that Huggins has used this word before in more select company. The most troubling aspect of the whole affair was how freely Huggins used that ugly word - with absolutely no pushback from the talk show host, to boot. While showing his childish disdain for Xavier (which goes back to his time as Cincinnati's coach, a tenure that ended 18 years ago), Huggins denigrated Catholics, talked of “rubber penises” being thrown on the court by Musketeer fans, and twice used an anti-gay slur.
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