There are calls for West Virginia to fire men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins, and for good reason: He casually uttered a hateful term repeatedly on a Cincinnati radio show, somehow managing to offend Catholic and LGBTQIA+ communities, along with anyone who is a member of both or cares about either. It was unprompted and inexcusable. Of course people want him to be fired.
Me? I want him to resign.
Not as punishment. Not to forfeit a buyout. I want Huggins to resign. Huggins created a situation that could have real negative consequences on the campus where he coaches and went to school, and the only one who can truly stop them is him.
Think about the alternatives. If West Virginia suspends Huggins but keeps him on the job, that would send a disturbing message to the whole university. It would make thousands of students feel uncomfortable and unwelcome, and set a disturbing precedent for the entire faculty. How can West Virginia take a stand when a professor invariably says something outrageously offensive, like Huggins did?
If the school fires Huggins, he will become a martyr for a large chunk of the Mountaineers’ fan base. He might not paint it that way. But many fans will be angry that their successful and famous coach got fired, and they will invariably blame those whom Huggins insulted. Firing Huggins might be the most just outcome, but the fallout would hurt the people the school would be trying to protect.
But what if Huggins makes the decision himself? He could resign and say this is entirely his fault, he wants the campus to heal and he wants to help people do it. Then he can actually do it. Huggins has always fashioned himself as an unfashionable man of the people, more comfortable talking to a nobody over a beer in the corner of a room than at any kind of event where what you wear matters. This would be a good time to put that persona to use on campus—every corner of it.
If Huggins resigns and owns it, he can save West Virginia from years of divisiveness. We have all seen what happens to schools that fire popular coaches for reasons other than wins and losses, and it’s usually ugly.
Huggins did not physically hurt anybody. But if he becomes a martyr, this situation will become volatile—and Huggins is only a couple of steps away from martyrdom. If WVU fires Huggins, some people will blame cancel culture and the woke crowd and turn it into a political issue when it isn’t.
The man said something awful. That’s it. Publicly, he seems to understand that. Huggins released a statement of apology Monday, and, while evaluations of such statements are subjective, I thought this one hit most of the right notes.
Huggins said, “I used a completely insensitive and abhorrent phrase that there is simply no excuse for—and I wo’'t try to make one here,” and then he actually didn’t make one.
He also said: “I am ashamed and embarrassed and heartbroken for those I have hurt. I must do better, and I will.” For those I have hurt. Not “to anyone who might have been offended.” This is more than a semantic difference. Huggins did not imply people should lighten up. He acknowledged his words were not just potentially hurtful, but actually hurtful.
He also said, “There are consequences for our words and actions, and I will fully accept any coming my way.” So, in his statement, at least, there was no preemptive digging in for a fight.
I don’t know if Huggins said all this himself, had somebody write it for him or wrote any of it begrudgingly, and I don’t care all that much. This is the statement he released. His name is on it.
I doubt Huggins planned to say what he did or wants real harm to come to anybody as a result of it. But now he has a responsibility to stop any more harm from happening. The way to do that is to move the conversation away from outrage and punishment, and move it toward responsibility and understanding.
The best thing Huggins can do for West Virginia now is resign.
