Creighton men’s basketball coach Greg McDermott, who previously apologized for urging his players to “stay on the plantation” in a locker room chat after a loss over the weekend, said on Wednesday that he offered to resign over his comments.
McDermott said on Creighton’s pregame radio show for a 72-60 loss to No. 10 Villanova that he had a long meeting with the players on Sunday night, saying he saw “ pain in their face (s) ” and hoped “ not one mistake. it define you. “
McDermott said he wanted to make sure the Bluejays wanted him to stay as a coach and apologized for the “distraction I brought to this team for the choice I made.”
McDermott said the Bluejays – whose players wear “equality” on the back of their jerseys – have not asked him to step down.
“Our guys wanted me to coach and that’s my job,” said McDermott.
McDermott has been Creighton’s coach since 2010. McDermott, who is white, acknowledged after a loss to Xavier on Saturday, “Guys, we have to stick together. We need both legs. I need everyone to get on the plantation. “I can. Nobody leaves the plantation.”
The coach added that he apologized directly to Creighton’s president, Reverend Daniel Hendrickson, and athletic director Bruce Rasmussen.
Creighton assistant coach Terrence Rencher, who is black, tweeted that he was “deeply hurt” by McDermott’s words.
The school said all disciplinary action would be kept confidential.
McDermott stood on the sidelines and got one fist punch from seemingly all players except one while running off the track after the warm-ups for the game.
McDermott’s racially insensitive comments overshadowed what was expected to be a fantastic showdown between the two best teams in the Great East. The Wildcats instead rode to a 19-point lead, taking their seventh regular season title in the past eight seasons under coach Jay Wright.
This report uses information from The Associated Press.