In June, West Virginia published a statement from Bob Huggins in which he publicly announced his resignation as the university's men's basketball coach. Three weeks later, Huggins is saying that he not only did he not resign, he also is threatening legal action if West Virginia does not reinstate him.
West Virginia responded, in no uncertain terms, that it won't be bringing Huggins back.
Metro News' Hoppy Kercheval reported Saturday night that Huggins is threatening to sue the university if he is not reinstated.
Breaking: Former WVU head basketball coach Bob Huggins sends letter to WVU demanding reinstatement or he will sue. Claims he never resigned.
— Hoppy Kercheval (@HoppyKercheval) July 9, 2023
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Bob Huggins resignation and retirement, explained
In mid-June, the Pittsburgh police announced that Huggins had been arrested on suspicion of DUI. It was the second DUI arrest of Huggins' coaching career; the first was in 2004 while he was the coach at Cincinnati. The June arrest came just over a month after he was criticized for using a homophobic slur directed at Xavier fans during an interview with a Cincinnati radio station.
Shortly after Huggins' arrest, West Virginia published Huggins' statement of resignation. The wording was clear: He was retiring as head coach of the Mountaineers immediately.
"Today, I have submitted a letter to President Gordon Gee and Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker informing them of my resignation and intention to retire as head men's basketball coach at West Virginia University effective immediately. My recent actions do not represent the values of the University or the leadership expected in this role. While I have always tried to represent our University with honor, I have let all of you – and myself – down. I am solely responsible for my conduct and sincerely apologize to the University community – particularly to the student-athletes, coaches and staff in our program. I must do better, and I plan to spend the next few months focused on my health and my family so that I can be the person they deserve."
But in the letter obtained by Kercheval, Huggins attorney David A. Campbell claimed Huggins "never communicated his resignation" to university president Gordon Gee or athletic director Wren Baker, and said the resignation letter is "incredibly based on a text message from Coach Huggins' wife." Campbell also wrote that Huggins' resignation needed to be submitted in writing via registered or certified mail. Since that hasn't happened, Campbell claimed, Huggins should still be the team's coach.
Campbell wrote in the letter that the public comments made by West Virginia regarding Huggins' resignation are "not only false, but appear to be an after-the-fact attempt to remedy WVU's breach of the Employment Agreement." Further, the letter says the DUI incident in Pittsburgh is "now close to being fully resolved without charges" and noted Huggins has pursued rehabilitation to "leave no doubt" that he can still be the head coach. The letter said he will soon be released from the voluntary program.
In a follow-up Monday, Huggins' attorney released a statement saying he is "employed by WVU pursuant to an Employment Agreement." He also claimed he "never submitted the notice required under the Employment Agreement to voluntarily resign," per Jeff Borzello.
Bob Huggins’ new attorney — the one who sent last week’s letter to West Virginia — just released a statement from Huggins.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) July 10, 2023
“I am employed by WVU pursuant to an Employment Agreement. I never submitted the notice required under the Employment Agreement to voluntarily resign.” pic.twitter.com/DQPPG67uJj
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Stephanie D. Taylor, West Virginia vice president and general counsel, responded to Campbell's letter, calling its claims "completely factually inaccurate." Taylor said that the letter conflicted with previous conversations between WVU and other Huggins attorneys, including one that took place a day before Huggins threatened litigation. One of the attorneys wanted to discuss Huggins' benefits as part of his resignation and retirement, Taylor wrote.
She also said that Huggins met with the team on the evening of June 17 and announced he would be resigning and retiring. Later that evening, Taylor added, Huggins submitted his resignation and retirement via email. The university accepted minutes later.
Taylor said that the meeting and email came after the university met with Huggins' longtime attorney Rocky Gianola on June 16 and 17. She said that the university is now confused about who, in fact, is representing Huggins.
"In light of all of this, we need confirmation, substantiated in a reliable writing, as to who is representing Mr. Huggins and what his current legal position is with respect to the University. If Mr. Huggins is somehow now maintaining that he did not resign after discussions with his attorney on June 16-17, then we would ask that whoever is taking that position on his behalf to do their due diligence before asserting a position that is clearly contrary to the documented evidence."
Taylor said "in no uncertain terms" that WVU will not accept any revocation of Huggins' retirement and will not be reinstating him as head coach.
"Moreover, if Mr. Huggins or his counsel attempts to publicly suggest that he somehow did not resign and retire from his position, please be advised that the University will swiftly and aggressively defend itself from these spurious allegations."