Huggins Breaks Silence on DUI Arrest & Resignation
Hall of Fame basketball coach Bob Huggins held his first interview since his DUI arrest in June and his resignation from the West Virginia University basketball program Tuesday evening as a “radio host” with Full Court Radio.
In the official police report, Officer Bertain said Huggins stated a few times he believed to be in “Columbus”. However, Huggins told a different account of the encounter.
“That’s an absolute lie. I knew exactly where I was. I just didn’t know the area, I don’t know the streets in Pittsburgh,” Huggins said. “Then going down there and being in the middle of the Taylor Swift concert letting out.”
Huggins never explained how he managed to get a flat tire, which prompted the officer to stop Huggins for assistance in the first place. Nonetheless, in the interview he reiterated he knew he was in Pittsburgh. “I knew I was in Pittsburgh. I didn’t know where I was at in Pittsburgh or what was around, but I was just kind of trying to joke around a little bit with the guy (one of the officers).”
Huggins resigned the following day after his arrest but there still seems to be some confusion on his resignation. First, stating, “To tell the honest truth, the guy over at the athletic department pretty much convinced my wife that we would lose all of our benefits if I didn’t resign, which is not true.”
Then, later in the episode, Huggins said, “I had so many things going around in my head I didn’t really know what was going on. I don’t think I resigned. I don’t ever remember signing anything that said I resigned.”
Huggins wanted an opportunity to sit in front of administrators at WVU, but it never happened.
“I wanted to be to able sit down and talk with the people above me and sit down and say, ‘is there a way we can work this out’.”
Then, there’s the letter from Huggins attorney’s that he never resigned, which was interpreted as a lawsuit. It was never filed in court and according to Huggins, it was never an option.
Huggins has, and in the interview, taken ownership of his mistake.
“I felt terrible about it and I still feel terrible about it. I let down certainly the players, fans, the state of West Virginia. I fully recognize that and take responsibility for that,” he said.
Huggins also checked himself into rehab and noted it’s been 142 days since his last drink of alcohol.
“I didn’t really know what to do at that point in time. You go through what you have to go through after that, and I did that. Then I said I’m going to rehab. So, I went to rehab. I did that on my own, no one told me to do that. I went to rehab because I thought that was the right thing to do, that’s what I needed to do. I spent a great deal of time in rehab.”
You can listen to the full interview here.
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