Bob Huggins is standing by his claim he hasn’t resigned.
The longtime West Virginia coach men’s basketball coach, almost a month after the school announced he was resigning and retiring from coaching following a DUI arrest, released a statement on Monday. Huggins, who made it sound like he released the statement from a “world-class rehabilitation center,” insisted that he is still employed at West Virginia and that he never submitted proper notice needed to resign his post.
Bob Huggins has released a new statement.
“I have taken responsibility for the mistake…I voluntarily checked into a world-class rehab center.”
“I understand WVU published a statement purportedly written by me.”
“I am employed by WVU pursuant to an employment agreement.” pic.twitter.com/2sLs6ZRrwe
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) July 10, 2023
“I let WVU know that I was seeking rehabilitation,” Huggins wrote. “However, WVU was not willing to speak with me about the Pittsburgh event nor to provide me time to obtain counsel to review my employment agreement … Now that I have obtained counsel to review the employment agreement and have seen WVU’s comments about my current status, it is clear that WVU did not handle the situation properly. More importantly, the basketball program is in need and I have a strong desire to conclude my career as the head basketball coach for the program that I love.”
Huggins was arrested last month in Pittsburgh after officers reportedly found his car blocking a road with one of his tires shredded. After suspecting he was intoxicated, officers conducted a field sobriety test, which Huggins failed, per the police report. Huggins reportedly blew a .210 on a breathalyzer and officers allegedly found a trash bag with empty beer cans on the passenger-side floor of his car.
It marked Huggins’ second known DUI arrest. He was initially arrested in 2004 while coaching at Cincinnati.
In May, Huggins used an anti-gay slur while making an appearance on a Cincinnati radio station. West Virginia suspended him for three games and reduced his salary by $1 million after that incident.
Huggins said in his statement that he was “truly sorry for the mistake I made in Pittsburgh,” and that he had checked himself into a rehabilitation center and that he intended to remain there “until I am clear to return to my active coaching duties.”
One day after his arrest, West Virginia announced in a statement Huggins had resigned and intended to retire from coaching. He also apologized and said he planned to “spend the next few months focused on my health and my family so I can be the person they deserve.”
Advertisement
Huggins said on Monday that the statement was not written by him, and that West Virginia simply “implied that they had received this purported resignation letter from me.”
Huggins made similar claims through his attorney last week, which West Virginia pushed back on. The school called Huggins’ assertion “completely factually inaccurate,” and said that Huggins both told players in person he was resigning and told university officials in an email that he was resigning. Huggins’ lawyer claimed the resignation came in a text message written by Huggins’ wife.
West Virginia again pushed back on Huggins’ claims on Monday afternoon.
“There is no support in the law or on these facts to suggest that Mr. Huggins may now ignore his resignation and his actions upon which all have relied, undo his voluntary separation, and return to work as if none of this ever occurred,” West Virginia vice president and general counsel Stephanie Taylor wrote.
Advertisement
She continued: “But let me again restate the obvious: the university will not accept Mr. Huggins’ attempted revocation of his resignation, nor will it reinstate him as head coach of the men’s basketball program.”
Several West Virginia players have since transferred out of the program. The school also promoted assistant Josh Eilert to replace Huggins in an interim capacity for next season.
Huggins, a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, was the winningest active head coach in college basketball with 935 career wins. The 69-year-old has 10 conference tournament titles and two Final Four appearances to his name after coaching at West Virginia, Kansas State, Cincinnati, Akron and Walsh.
It’s unclear what will happen next, though Huggins sounds ready for a legal battle. Somehow, the situation has only gotten worse since the school announced his resignation.
Services Marketplace – Listings, Bookings & Reviews
