From the Milwaukee paper:
"From the beginning I owned what I said and made apologies to the student-athletes affected. I made a mistake in a moment of inattentiveness. For that, I have the deepest regret."
Helland said rather than sharing the story with head coach Greg Gard, he apologized to the players involved and thought the matter was closed.
"I specifically addressed the student-athletes and we handled it as a group," he said. "Everything was fine. ... Apologies were accepted and everyone was doing just fine. ...
"It really didn’t come back up until Kobe decided that he wanted to leave."
Everything changed in the days between UW's loss Jan. 27 at Iowa and the Badgers' victory Feb. 1 over Michigan State.
Redshirt sophomore guard Kobe King informed the coaching staff two days before the Iowa game he was leaving the team. King eventually announced on Jan. 29 he planned to transfer.
Helland noted he heard rumors that week the incident he felt had been handled would be shared publicly. He declined to say who might share the incident.
"You start to hear little whispers, rumors that something was going on," he said.
Helland informed Gard and UW administrators a day or two before the Michigan Sate game what had transpired in Columbus.
"It was the right thing to do," he said. "At some point it has to go up the chain."
Although sources with access to the program told the Journal Sentinel that King had been present when Helland used the epithet, UW said in its statement and Helland reiterated that he was not.