basketball coach Bob Huggins arrested for DUI
basketball coach Bob Huggins arrested for DUI
Bob Huggins arrested for DUI by Inside Port Harcourt
- PITTSBURGH, PA — West Virginia University head men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins has been arrested and charged with driving under the influence in Pittsburgh.
- The arrest comes amid a suspension and salary reduction after Huggins used a homophobic slur during a radio show in Cincinnati.
According to Pittsburg Police, just before 8:30 p.m., police 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, police said.
Police said officers directed Huggins, who was identified as the 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,” police said on the agency’s public safety blotter.
Police said 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,” police said.
Huggins, 69, released from custody and will appear for a preliminary hearing at a later date.
University officials have not issued comment on the arrest.
The arrest comes after the comments Huggins made on Bill Cunningham’s WLW radio show that airs in Cincinnati in May.
The coach, who is the highest paid state employee, referred to Xavier fans as “Catholic f***” during the broadcast, which was later posted to Twitter.
The comments came during a conversation with Cunningham about a prior game between the University of Cincinnati and Xavier during Huggins’ 16-year run with the Bearcats.
WVU said in a news release Huggins will be suspended for the first three regular season games of the 2023-24 basketball season and his contract will be amended. The coach signed a contract extension in 2021 that would keep him at the university through the 2023-24 season with the coach’s option to extend it until 2027.
The new contract, which was amended, is now a year-by-year agreement that ends April 30, 2024.
A reduction in Huggins’ annual salary totaling $1 million will be used to support the university’s LGBTQ+ Center, the Carruth Center and other organizations that support marginalized communities.
Huggins returned to West Virginia in 2007 where he has racked up 345 wins at his alma mater, making him one of a handful of coaches nationally with more than 900 wins in their career.
The Mountaineers have made four Sweet 16 appearances and one Final Four appearance since the head coach returned to Morgantown. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
