To make the Huggins story worse (within context of course), someone went digging through Huggins' twitter feed and found a picture of him with someone else who got fired for uttering an anti-gay slur over the air. That person? Thom Brennaman.
Bob Huggins
- Status
ChatGPT wants to have a career.
Huggins has a job because he is a good coach, not a good person. History repeats itself in different ways...like at least the 4 times he was arrested for DUI but never charged with one yet.
www.espn.com
Huggins' salary to be reduced by $1M after slur
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins will return next season after he agreed to a million-dollar pay cut, a three-game regular-season suspension and sensitivity training in the wake of using an anti-gay slur in a radio interview.
Huggins has a job because he is a good coach, not a good person. History repeats itself in different ways...like at least the 4 times he was arrested for DUI but never charged with one yet.
Huggins' salary to be reduced by $1M after slur
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins will return next season after he agreed to a million-dollar pay cut, a three-game regular-season suspension and sensitivity training in the wake of using an anti-gay slur in a radio interview.
If there's a closed circuit video link to his "sensitivity training" class you can just take my money now.
Friend of mine that is a WVU fan said that the drop in salary Huggins got as part of the punishment is basically a fine as there are rumors out there that Huggins is set to retire after this season.
Chad Fleck
- Eureka, IL
We are a weak and pathetic culture.
Sticks and stones.
If society doesn't like it, then he can be punished by fans not coming to games, players not going to WVU because of his stances, etc. Instead it's like 5% of the loudmouth public that tells us certain words are complete no-no's.
Sticks and stones.
If society doesn't like it, then he can be punished by fans not coming to games, players not going to WVU because of his stances, etc. Instead it's like 5% of the loudmouth public that tells us certain words are complete no-no's.
This is not a free market/private business issue. This is a publicly funded institution which has laws to follow due to our country’s history of marginalizing certain populations.
No.
Violence against gay men has often accompanied use of that word and society has decided it is no longer okay to use that slur to denigrate people because of their sexual orientation.
Some words are no-no's for a reason and that's one of them
I do not know what the big deal is? Why have we become a society where words are so offensive that we cry or want people fired? I grew up in a time where you laughed stuff like this off.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
You gotta love when the username/avatar/comment combination lines up this well.
I'll say for my part I found it interesting that WVU took away such a large chunk of Huggins' salary, there's a justice in that, given that coaches are paid (sometimes explicitly in their contracts) to be media and public relations representatives for the program. If he's not going to do that part of the job in an adequate fashion, well, there goes that part of the money.
The Sprouting Divot
Invisible and Bulletproof
- Miracle Mile
Clown take.
So you propose that the most appropriate deterrent for this kind of thing is a course of action in which long-term and multi-variate consequences may or may not manifest until a year or two later, and which at that time could also reasonably be attributed to any number of other factors?
Edit - maybe I'm off the mark in assuming that you believe that this merits any deterrence whatsoever.
Chad Fleck
- Eureka, IL
Fair point. However, it does interact heavily with the free market. I guess I can see this being approached either way.
Chad Fleck
- Eureka, IL
They are still but words. Free speech should be just that. The violence is wrong. Words are not violence, despite what some might say.
Chad Fleck
- Eureka, IL
I believe speech should be completely free.
The Sprouting Divot
Invisible and Bulletproof
- Miracle Mile
And that all basketball games should start only at a time that doesn't interfere with your choice of church services.
I'm shocked that the worst opinions are starting to come out of a thread like this. Shocked.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Free speech is a thing. At-will employment is also a thing.
I have free speech absolutist tendencies myself (I mean, have you seen my posts?), but we surrender some of our Wild West rugged individual liberty at the door of our families, our communities, and indeed our jobs. Particularly very well paid very public facing jobs. Such is life.
That Huggins is going to survive this actually speaks some volumes about the "cancel culture" tide starting to recede, IMO.
Last I checked he wasn’t being arrested for this. Let me know if that changes and then I can support your free speech argument.
Chad Fleck
- Eureka, IL
I never said i wanted that mandated. I just wish we lived in a society that cared that much (again) to simply value that time of the week.
Chad Fleck
- Eureka, IL
One of the bigger issues in Western society is that we can't disagree and still live together peacefully.I just "liked" a chiefgritty post. now i know we will in a world where you don't have to agree with others on everything but can still find some common ground. what a great society we will live in!
I don't have the popular opinion here, but I'm not willing to call any of you lesser than me over it. We had a reasonable back and forth, and I'm good with that.
Free of consequences?
Words matter, that's not what free speech is, and the 'sticks and stones' saying was meant to help recipients move past the words, not excuse jerks from saying whatever they want
sbillini
- st petersburg, fl
I mean, to be fair, you essentially called all of us lesser than you over it by saying we live in a "weak and pathetic culture."
I don't agree with you on that, but i don't think less of you for thinking it.
But words can lead to violence and often is the first step leading to violence. Denigrating others, especially in an inflammatory way, using words with deep-seated and complex histories, are meant to cause a reaction.
Huggins didn't just accidentally say it and immediately stop and apologize. He literally said it, paused and then ELABORATED FURTHER and said it again, on a highly visible radio show. This wasn't him getting caught on a hot mic somewhere at a booster event. As a highly-paid, and perceived leader of a community that is extremely young, impressionable, and vulnerable, he should be better in the public eye.
Watch 42 and watch the scene of the dad and son at the game. That's how it all starts.
- Status