Sports ministry disrespected me – D’Tigress coach, Hughley

D’Tigress head coach, Otis Hughley, believes that his true value has been undermined by the sports ministry following the delay of his outstanding salaries and bonuses, Sunday PUNCH reports.

Hughley is being owed salaries for the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying tournament in Serbia held in February this year and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The former Sacramento Kings assistant coach revealed to AIPS that he wanted to leave his role with the team the sports ministry failed to meet its obligations.

“I have not heard anything because there have been promises that have not been met so I am just tired of dealing with it,” Otis said.

“The minister misled me from day one. He said he was going to do several things and he has not done anything. His office is misrepresented, they promised to do things time after time I can’t deal with that anymore.”

He also expressed his displeasure over the Federal Government’s withdrawal from international basketball for two years.

“What they have done to these girls and want to invest in grassroots is absurd,” he continued.

“First of all, you can do that while playing international competition. International competition is what inspires a lot of the grassroots to want to play the game.”

Since taking charge of the team seven weeks before the 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Tenerife-Spain, Hughley led the team to an eighth-place finish at the World Cup – the first by an African team.

He also won back-to-back Afrobasket titles, and qualified for the Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 World Cup in Australia, while recording a historic win over France.

The ban on Nigeria has prompted FIBA to replace the D’Tigress with Mali at the upcoming FIBA Women’s World Cup in Australia scheduled for September 22 to October 1.