MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — In an article released earlier by John G. Miller of WV News, West Virginia businessman Ike Morris fired back at Ken Kendrick, another major WVU donor, about his recent comments about Bob Huggins.
Earlier this week, Kendrick had the following to say about Huggins: “Bob Huggins has no place in the lives of young men who deserve quality leadership. I think WVU, in their handling of the Bob Huggins debacle, probably were too lenient with him,” Kendrick told MetroNews. “Had he worked for me, he would have not had a job after he engaged in this vituperative series of homophobic remarks back in the spring and then was retained under very difficult circumstances and then lost his job as a result of a drunken stupor,” Kendrick said.
However, Ike Morris, who is the founder of Waco Oil & Gas, couldn’t have disagreed more with Kendrick. “Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Kendrick has probably done so much good for the University but he truly does not know Bob Huggins as well as I do,” Morris said.
“There’s a lot of people out there who make mistakes, who have done things they wished they hadn’t done,” Morris said. “To say someone can’t redeem themselves, I know Bob Huggins, I’ve seen the charitable work he does, I see the love and care he has for his players. I don’t believe he’s touched a drop of alcohol since the incident,” Morris added.
Morris went on to tell WV News, “The quick fix is Bob Huggins. I have no doubt in my mind that he should return. I just wished there was time to put it to a state vote.”
Despite the support from Morris and many other in the state of West Virginia, however, it’s very unlikely that Huggins will be back as the head coach of the Mountaineers anytime soon. University president Gordon Gee put the chances of Huggins returning at “0” and Ken Kendrick, who is the university’s top donor, said this week that Huggins’ time at West Virginia is totally at an end.
Huggins responded a day later in a classy statement, saying the following to his critics:
“LOTS OF FOLKS ASKING FOR A RESPONSE TO RECENT COMMENTS ABOUT ME. THE ONLY THING I’LL SAY IS I KNOW MY SITUATION INVITES CRITICISM, BUT I HOPE THE STRONG OPINIONS AND JUDGMENTS ABOUT ME DON’T MAKE ANYBODY ELSE OUT THERE FEEL ASHAMED IN THEIR OWN STRUGGLES.
MY HOME STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA GETS KICKED AROUND A LOT, BUT THE TRUTH IS THERE’S A PROBLEM IN THIS STATE AND SO MANY OTHERS, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE SUFFER FROM ADDICTION. IF YOU’RE STRUGGLING WITH ADDICTION AND RECOVERY, DO NOT LET THE SHAMERS GET TO YOU.
I CONTINUE TO LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES. WE ALL HAVE OUR CRITICS. LIKE ME, YOU MAY BE YOUR OWN WORST CRITIC. BUT AS WE KNOW WELL IN WEST VIRGINIA, PRESSURE MAKES DIAMONDS.
KEEP PRESSING”
Tell us in the comments below. Do you believe that Bob Huggins deserves another chance? Do you believe that it should be put to a state vote to determine his future at West Virginia University?
