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ARTICLE · 09 JUNE 2023

Bob Huggins And The First Amendment

I need to start this blog post with some caveats. First, I have been a Xavier basketball fan since 1985.

United StatesGovernment, Public Sector

I need to start this blog post with some caveats. First, I have been a Xavier basketball fan since 1985. Second, I detest Bob Huggins' coaching style. Third, I think UC did the right thing when it fired him back in the day. So, having said that, I assume some readers will accuse me of bias. Fair enough.

But this blog isn't so much about whether West Virginia University should fire Huggins for his homophobic comments on the Bill Cunningham radio show on Monday. It's more about whether Huggins can hide behind the First Amendment if WVU imposes any discipline.

WVU is a public institution. This means Huggins has First Amendment rights. He is in a different position than Thom Brennaman. As some readers may recall, Brennaman was removed from his post as a Cincinnati Reds announcer within minutes of using the same slur as Huggins. But Brennaman wasn't employed by a public entity. So, the Reds didn't have to worry about any First Amendment concerns when they cut him

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