Bob Huggins stepping down after DUI arrest [Updated]

Eighteen years after a DUI and accompanying arrest footage forced Bob Huggins out as head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats basketball program, the 69-year-old is in the news for the same offense after Pittsburgh police arrested him Friday on a charge of driving under the influence. If this is true and it isn’t the final straw for Huggins’ tenure at West Virginia, the school will have a lot of explaining to do because it just docked his pay for spouting homophobic language during a May radio appearance.

Friday night’s alleged incident occurred at around 8:30 p.m. when police spotted an SUV in the middle of the road with its driver’s side door open, according to Pittsburgh Police. After seeing that the vehicle had a shredded tire, the officers instructed Huggins on how to get his car off the road, and then questioned the coach about being intoxicated when he struggled to do so.

Huggins then failed a field sobriety test and was taken into custody without incident for further testing. He’s facing charges of DUI and was released. Huggins will have to appear at a later date for a preliminary hearing.

Update: According to a police report, a breathalyzer indicated Huggins’ blood alcohol content was 0.21 percent, more than twice the legal limit in Pennsylvania.

West Virginia also issued a statement.

“We are gathering more information and will take appropriate action once the review is complete,” the school said.

Update: Bob Huggins plans to step down, ESPN is reporting.

“Huggins and the school have been in conversations throughout the day regarding his departure, sources said, and Huggins has indicated that’s his intention,” Pete Thamel wrote. “A resolution on Huggins’ departure is expected in the near future.

“A source told ESPN’s Jeff Borzello that Huggins informed his players of his impending resignation in a team meeting on Saturday.”

West Virginia’s only path forward

It’s time for the university to part ways with Huggins. They gave him a second chance — technically a third if you count his first DUI as a strike — following his heinous and shockingly casual display of bigotry live on air, and reasonable pundits everywhere said the punishment wasn’t harsh enough.

At the time, WVU athletic director Wren Baker said they planned to use the incident “to educate how the casual use of inflammatory language and implicit bias affect our culture, our community, and our health and well-being.”

In addition to losing out on a cool million, Huggins’ contract was switched to a year-by-year basis, he was suspended three games, and told that if he says some inflammatory shit again, he’ll be terminated immediately.

This wasn’t quite that — though I’ve yet to see the arrest footage from Friday night, so nothing can be ruled out yet. However, it’s still another embarrassment for the school, and I’ll be shocked if Huggins survives the weekend.

The surly coach was literally just featured in May’s Idiot of the Month awards, and is already nominated for June. Thankfully for Baker, he can use the repeat behavior excuse when inevitably asked why the school stood behind the coach after he called Catholics the f-word but not when the coach was allegedly drunk behind the wheel.

Bob Huggins didn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt in May, and proved as much a mere seven weeks later. He’s not Ja Morant; in fact, he’s three times older than the 23-year-old point guard, and it’s not about whether Huggins can change anymore. The only trick that a haggard dog knows is how to retain or find employment after repeated fuck ups.