Former NBA player John Amaechi has blasted West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins for making anti-gay remarks earlier this week.
Huggins used homophobic obscenities during a radio interview in Cincinnati on Monday, May 8. He referred to Xavier fans as “Catholic f**s” when speaking with Bill Cunningham on 700 WLW.
Amaechi, who came out as gay in 2007, has now slammed the coaching icon, claiming that he isn’t the first one in a position of power to use such a slur. He further stated that everyone involved in the discussion is “disgusting.”
“I don’t know the man — but he sounds like a dinosaur,” Amaechi says to TMZ Sports. “College (and, indeed, pro) sports are littered with them.”
Amaechi also called out the hosts of the sports shows, saying they “are also disgusting and to blame for egging this conversation on and calling him ‘the best’ after he said those words.”
“It’s hardly surprising that some people still think it’s okay to say these words,” he added. “As for whether he should be an educator (as a coach or otherwise), I would remind people that the vociferously anti-trans and anti-gay usually sit in a constellation where many other minority groups (including Black and Brown people) are also held in contempt.”
Amaechi, who spent five seasons in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, and Utah Jazz, has become an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community after coming out, and has also established a career as a psychologist and professor at a Russell Group university.
Huggins has subsequently apologised for his remarks, claiming that there is no explanation for his behaviour. WVU is presently conducting an investigation into the matter.
