Oops They Did It Out in the Open
Glen Kuiper and Bob Huggins showed who they are. Will they suffer the appropriate consequences?
We know hatred exists.
All of the -ism and -phobia examples prove it.
With video and phone cameras, it’s easier to see and distribute instances of bad behavior.
Both Glen Kuiper and Bob Huggins have learned this the hard way.
Kuiper is the Oakland A’s play-by-play announcer who has been suspended for using a racial slur.
He and his broadcast partner Dallas Braden were talking about what they had done in Kansas City during the day before the game. While describing going to visit The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Kuiper used the N-Word instead of Negro.
(When I first heard the story, I thought that he’d used the word nigra, the racist’s polite way of saying the N-Word, but no, he went full overseer and used the actual word).
Huggins, the head basketball coach of West Virginia University, was being asked about getting a player from Xavier University through the transfer portal. (Xavier is a Catholic University and a perennial college basketball contender).
Huggins, who has a history with Xavier based on coaching their rival Cincinnati, responded:
“Catholics... I tell you what, any school that can throw rubber penises on the floor and then say they didn’t do it, by God they can get away with anything.
It was the Crosstown Shootout. What it was, was all those f—s, those Catholic f---, I think.”
He has apologized, and will keep his job, albeit with a three -game suspension, a $1 million salary reduction, and undergoing mandatory sensitivity training.
It is hard to see Kuiper surviving with his job intact.
But why is West Virginia retaining Huggins?
These weren’t accidental statements.
You don’t accidentally say the N-Word. If you watch the video, you see the word came easily and effortlessly out of his mouth.
The same is true for Huggins. He demonstrated anti-Catholic and homophobic tendencies in one fell swoop.
Accidents happen. People with microphones in front of their mouths sometimes say the wrong thing. Profanities will slip out.
But racist, prejudiced, homophobic, sexist language will only come out if it’s used in private discourse.
It’s not an accident.
It’s an overflow of their heart.
Glen Kuiper and Bob Huggins didn’t say those words by accident.
They said publicly what they say privately.
They are entitled to be bigots in their personal lives.
But when certain words are uttered in the public sphere, there should be consequences.
And one should be the loss of your public platform.