NFL
By: Brock Vierra
The Huggy Bear era is over in West Virginia. The man who pioneered “Press Virginia” will not be a coach for the foreseeable future or ever again. Bob Huggins announced both his resignation from West Virginia and his subsequent retirement from coaching this weekend after he was arrested for another DUI, this time being completely hammered while operating a vehicle in Pittsburg that had both a flat tire and an open door. The vehicle was blocking traffic and filled with empty beer cans. This disturbing moment is one of many that have plagued the coach throughout his life. If Huggins was caught in West Virginia, maybe this gets swept under the rug as I suspect this has it the past because I doubt that the three times he was caught operating a vehicle while drunk weren’t the only times he made the decision to do so. But that’s also what life is about…choices and Huggins has made some very bad ones as of late.
His DUI comes off of another incident that got him suspended for West Virginia’s first three games of the 2023 season. Huggins on a radio show used a homophobic slur and expressed anti-Catholic sentiment for which he apologized for. Bob Huggins hasn’t exactly made a great case on why he should be given the privilege of being a college basketball coach. These actions aren’t exactly the hallmark of a man you would trust your sons with but I also refuse to judge a person, to judge a man based on his worst moments.
Our judicial system is made up of people who are being judged and sentenced based on their worst moments. A fraction of one percent of their life has made up their future and we have a lot of people behind bars based on a second of action or a split-second decision. However, some of those people deserve to be behind bars even if ninety-nine percent of their life’s actions were based on good intentions. Bob Huggins doesn’t deserve to coach for the 2023 season.
However is he a bad man? Is a flawed man bad? No, a flawed man is exactly what he is and that is flawed. Now I have never thrown a homophobic slur at someone nor operated a vehicle while drunk. Have I made mistakes? Yes. Have I made bad choices? Yes. I am a flawed man.
So in Bob Huggins’s toughest moments, I show him love because the testimonies of those who know him best are based on Huggy showing love to them. Bob Huggins players have spoken and their words scream praise. When Huggins said the slur and his anti-Catholic sentiments, he apologized but he also donated money to Xavier University, a primarily catholic institution. Described as substantial donations, he gave money to Xavier’s Center for Faith and Justice and their Center for Diversity and Inclusion.
When WVU’s Jordan McCabe’s mom was diagnosed with cancer, Huggins brought her to Morgantown and made sure she was cared for by University doctors and nurses. When Da’Sean Butler tore his ACL in the Final Four, Huggins who was attempting to lead his team back against Duke dropped everything to lay on the floor and console Butler, bringing everyone in the arena to tears. It still brings me to tears till this day. Bob Huggins donated a tremendous amount of money including the $25,000 bonus for every time he beat Kansas to his cancer research foundation. Bob Huggins also hosted a fish fry that has raised over 16 million dollars for cancer research. Bob Huggins has publicly and financially supported the local miners in West Virginia and he has donated a large sum of money to the university.
Bob Huggins is a man and he has a problem. However just because you’re someone that has done bad or made bad choices, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. Just like all the good doesn’t just exonerate you from the bad things you’ve done. However, he has a problem. He just brought in his best class ever, had WVU on the verge of a National Title and he continues to drink excessively. That’s the telltale sign that someone who has helped so many now needs help himself.
So for someone who gets to sit behind a computer and type away with no consequence, Bob Huggins would be prime picking to sh*t on. Some already have and I’ll admit, I’ve made jokes at his expense. That was a choice I made and it was a bad one. So I write to say we are all humans and our humanity gives us the ability to mean good and do bad. So before you criticize him, please understand you have the right to do so. I have criticized him, Ja Morant, Henry Ruggs, Jalen Carter, and others. However I do not believe they are evil even though all of them have involved themselves in situations or made choices in which someone died or could’ve potentially been killed.
For Huggins, if he ever wishes to return to coaching, he needs to show that he has his drinking under control. That means a long period of confirmed sobriety, constant testing, and inspection of his working quarters for booze. In the meantime, all I can hope for is that he is getting the help he needs and when he walks into WVU Coliseum again, I hope he will only be welcomed with applause.
