Gay ex-NBAer John Amaechi calls Bob Huggins a ‘dinosaur’, says sport ‘is full of it’
Gay ex-NBA player John Amaechi calls Bob Huggins a ‘dinosaur’ and says college sports are ‘full of it’ after Hall of Fame coach’s homophobic comments calling Xavier fans ‘Catholic bastards’ on radio show
- John Amaechi called Huggins a ‘dinosaur’ and the radio co-hosts ‘disgusting’
- Amaechi – who has been gay since 2007 – played 5 seasons in the NBA
- DailyMail. com provides all the latest international sports news
Former NBA player John Amaechi, an openly gay man, has responded to comments made by West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins on a Cincinnati radio show on Monday.
Amaechi called Huggins a “dinosaur” and called everyone in the conversation “disgusting” after the coach used homophobic slurs to refer to fans of the Xavier University basketball team.
On Monday, in a conversation with radio host Bill Cunningham, Huggins brought up an incident during a rivalry game against Xavier while he was the coach at the University of Cincinnati. He referred to Xavier fans as “Catholic f**s” after the host appeared to be joking about trans people.
Amaechi, who has been gay since 2007, overheard the comments and criticized Huggins, while also complaining that he is probably not the only one in the sport to use such derogatory terms.
“I don’t know the guy, but he sounds like a dinosaur,” Amaechi told TMZ Sports. “College (and professional) sports are full of them.”
Former NBA player John Amaechi has called West Virginia coach Bob Huggins a “dinosaur.”
Huggins made homophobic remarks Monday afternoon on a Cincinnati radio show
Amaechi (26) – out as gay since 2007 – played five seasons in the NBA
Amaechi also spoke out to the show’s hosts, saying they “are also disgusting and responsible for fueling this conversation and calling him “the best” after he said those words.”
“It’s not surprising that some people still think it’s okay to say these words,” he added.
“On whether he should be an educator (as a coach or otherwise), I would remind people that the vocal anti-trans and anti-gay people tend to be in a constellation where many other minority groups are also scorned.”
Amaechi played five seasons in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz and has built a career as a well-known psychologist and university professor in the United Kingdom.
“I recently won an award from the sports industry and in my acceptance speech I spoke of sports as an empty vessel that people fill with who they are…,” said Amaechi.
“If you imagine what this man fills his sport with, it’s hard to imagine that the human outcome will be positive, even if there is sporting success.”
Huggins publicly apologized for his comments via the West Virginia basketball Twitter account, saying he was “ashamed.” The school is actively looking at the situation.