West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins was arrested for driving under the influence in Pittsburgh on Friday night, according to a report posted to the public safety blotter on the city’s police department website.
A Robert Huggins of Morgantown, W.Va., age 69, was arrested and charged with DUI after failing field sobriety tests. West Virginia athletic officials later released a statement saying they were aware of the situation, “gathering more information and will take appropriate action once the review is complete.”
The police report stated: “Just before 8:30 p.m, Pittsburgh Police from Zone 1 observed a black SUV on Merchant Street off of Ridge Avenue in the middle of the road, blocking traffic. The driver’s side door was open and the vehicle had a flat and shredded tire.
“Officers directed the male driver on how best to move off the road so they could help with the flat tire. When they observed him having difficulty maneuvering the SUV to allow vehicles to pass, they activated their lights to pull him over. Upon questioning, officers had strong suspicion to believe the male was intoxicated.
“They asked him to exit the vehicle to perform standard field sobriety tests, which he failed. The male was placed in custody without incident and transported for further testing.”
Huggins subsequently was charged, then released from custody. He will have a preliminary hearing at a later date, the report said.
This is Huggins’s second DUI offense. He was charged in June 2004 while the coach at Cincinnati.
The Hall of Fame coach was disciplined by West Virginia last month in the wake of using anti-LGBTQ slurs on a Cincinnati radio show, referring to “Catholic f---” when discussing Xavier University. He was suspended for three games and docked $1 million in salary but kept his job. The university announced that the athletic department would partner with WVU’s LGBTQ+ Center to develop annual sensitivity training sessions, which Huggins and all other current and future athletics coaching staff will be required to complete.
