Report: Huggins wants reinstatement at West Virginia, university responds
Just when you thought the roller coaster that has been this off-season for the West Virginia basketball program had come to a halt, things speed right back up.
As first reported by Hoppy Kercheval of MetroNews former head coach Bob Huggins through the Cleveland based firm Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith demanded reinstatement of his job.
The letter states that Huggins does not seek litigation and is “simply looking for the correction of a clear breach of his employment agreement with WVU.”
The letter, sent to President Gordon Gee July 7, stated that Huggins signed a resignation letter or communicated a resignation to anybody at the school.
Instead, the letter states that Huggins resignation was based on a text message from Huggins’ wife.
The letter also states that Huggins incident in Pittsburgh where he was arrested for DUI is close to being resolved without charges and he has voluntarily sought out rehabilitation which also should be completed soon and allow him to return to his duties as the head coach.
In a response from West Virginia Vice President and General Counsel Stephanie Taylor the university said that they were confused by the allegations by Huggins representation.
The letter read:
“Aside from being completely factually inaccurate, which we address briefly below, the allegations within this letter are at odds with my conversations yesterday with Mr. Bob Fitzsimmons, a West Virginia lawyer who has recently represented Mr. Huggins in various matters, and with the University’s prior conversations and documented correspondence with Mr. James “Rocky” Gianola, Mr. Huggins’ long-standing lawyer who has historically represented him, who represented him during the May 2023 negotiations with the University, and who represented him in conversations with the University on June 16-17, 2023 when Mr. Huggins decided to resign as WVU Head Men’s Basketball Coach and retire from the University effective immediately.”
The letter then states that Huggins did in-fact meet with members of the men’s basketball staff and student-athletes June 17 to announce he would no longer be coaching the team.
That same evening the letter states that at 9:38 p.m. a series of written and verbal communication with Mr. Gianola, who was acting as his counsel, Huggins clearly communicated his resignation and retirement to the University in writing via an email.
The university also asks for clarity on who is representing Huggins before the letter goes on to say that will not accept Mr. Huggins’ revocation of his resignation, nor will it reinstate him as head coach of the men’s basketball program. It also states that If Huggins or his counsel continue “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.”
