AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
- A university men’s basketball coach was suspended on Thursday for saying an insensitive comment.
- Creighton University announced that coach Greg McDermott was suspended in a statement on Thursday.
- McDermott said he told players to “stay on the plantation” after a game loss.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
A university men’s basketball coach was suspended for making a racially offensive analogy to his players after they lost a game last week, ESPN reported.
Creighton University’s Coach Greg McDermott faces disciplinary action after telling his players to “stay on the plantation” after losing to Xavier University on February 27, according to ESPN.
“Guys, we got to stick together. We need both feet in. I need everybody to stay on the plantation. I can’t have anybody leave the plantation,” McDermott said he told the players in the locker room after the game.
“I immediately recognized my egregious mistake and quickly addressed my use of such insensitive words with the team,” he wrote. “I have never used that analogy, and it is not indicative of who I am as a person or as a coach. I m deeply sorry.”
ESPN reported that McDermott has been with the team since 2010 and had recently received five different Coach of the Year honors, according to the team’s website.
The coach said in a pregame show earlier this week that he offered to resign from his position, according to the report.
According to ESPN, the university's athletic director, Bruce Rasmussen, released a statement on Thursday.
The statement pointed out that McDermott's comments "were not in alignment with Creighton's commitment to racial equity, diversity, and respect," the statement said.
—Creighton University (@Creighton) March 5, 2021
"Coach McDermott and the team have accepted that effective immediately, he is suspended from all team activities, including Saturday's home season finale against Butler," the statement said. "Further sanctions remain under consideration, not all of which will be shared publicly."
"Coach McDermott and our Athletics program must use this incident as an opportunity for growth and learning, as clearly more work needs to be done," the statement continued.
According to the statement, Assistant coach Al Huss will step up as interim head coach.
"I made a mistake, and I own it," McDermott said in a tweet on Thursday in response to the disciplinary action, according to ESPN. "Mistakes come with consequences, and I accept and agree with the suspension."