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September 10, 2000
INDIANA UNIVERSITY FIRES COACH BOBBY KNIGHT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana University fired coach Bob Knight on Sunday, ending three tumultuous decades at a school where he was one of basketball's best coaches but also one of its most volatile.

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And so the troubled 29 year career of Bobby Knight at Indiana University comes to a crashing halt. When I first heard the news, one thought was paramount in my mind. What the Hell took them so long?

If ever there was a strong case for the contention that many universities put athletic success ahead of academics and student welfare, the fact that Bobby Knight was able to repeatedly act as a spoiled child and remain at Indiana University for almost thirty years is ample proof of that fact. But finally, even the top officials at Indiana University had seen enough. Knight's most recent incident involved Indiana freshman student, Kent Harvey. Apparently, Harvey yelled at Knight, "Hey, Knight, what's up." Next, according to Harvey (and backed up by four witnesses), Knight grabbed and twisted Harvey's arm and cursed at him for not calling him "Mr. Knight" or "Coach Knight." This, after Bobby Knight had been told, point blank, in May that the University had "zero tolerance" for any future incidents. According to the University President, Myles Brand, there were other incidents involving Knight since the zero tolerance directive was issued on May 15th. One such altercation occurred recently when Knight engaged in a rude verbal onslaught of a female official of the university.

Before getting into the Knight firing and the years of boorish and adolescent behavior that led up to it, I need to comment on the boorish and adolescent behavior of the students when they learned of Knight's dismissal. First, thousands of students and other Knight supporters gathered outside the home of Myles Brand shouting, "Hey, hey, ho, ho! Myles Brand's got to go" and "Burn in Hell, Brand" as riot police stood nearby. Next, in the arena parking lot, a pile of red and white Indiana apparel was ignited before police extinguished it. A small riot occurred and some students were arrested. These demonstrations were not done for a political prisoner or for a person of substance who was wrongly accused and/or punished for some non-existent deed. This was for a basketball coach who had flaunted authority of all kinds for many years and who repeatedly demonstrated his total lack of self discipline.

The students do have one excuse going for them in defense of their adolescent behavior. Many of them are adolescents! Bob knight has no such defense working for him.

Two questions need to be asked about Bobby Knight. First, is he a good college basketball coach? The answer, without question, is yes. He brought three national championships to Indiana University and he coached the U.S. Olympic basketball team to a gold medal in 1984. He ranks in the upper echelons of college coaching greats. The second question is.....does this coaching greatness give him the privilege or right to ignore the rules of civilized behavior and to conduct himself in any antisocial way he pleases? This time the answer is a resounding NO!!

Here are but a few of Bob Knight's displays of uncontrolled anger and unacceptable behavior over the years:

1999 - Knight attacks another diner in a restaurant parking lot after the diner accuses him of making a racial comment (inside the restaurant) about blacks. Knight put a choke hold on the other man, leaving marks on his throat. Charges were never filed.

1997 - Player C. Jason Collier leaves the team citing Knights constant verbal abuse. A column in the Indianapolis Star the next day, suggests Knight should quit.

1997 - After a home loss to Purdue, Knight is heard chewing out an empty locker room.

1993 - Knight kicks his own son, Patrick, during a game with Notre Dame and receives a one game suspension.

1988 - Knight tells Connie Chung, "If rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it." He later claimed his comment was out of context. One has to ask, what type of context could he possibly have used that would have justified such a comment?

1987 - The university was fined $10,000 and Knight received a reprimand for banging his fist on a scorer's table during a game with LSU in an NCAA Regional Tournament.

1985 - Knight throws a chair across court during a game with Purdue and is suspended for one game.

1983 - In Philadelphia, Knight shoves an LSU fan into a garbage can during a scuffle at the NCAA finals.

1979 - Knight threw a student newspaper photographer into some bushes because the student took his picture while he was having an argument with a bicyclist about the right-of-way.

The list of Bobby Knight transgressions goes on and on and paints a clear and ugly picture of a man who's out of control and out of touch with any form of civilized behavior. Like the student or pro athlete who is coddled and pampered while their out of step behavior is ignored, Knight has hidden behind a successful coaching record for years. Any that dare to question his actions often suffer dire consequences.

CASE IN POINT: Indiana University English Professor, Murray Sperber received death threats after his criticism of the manner in which the University handled the investigation of an incident where Knight was seen choking a player during practice (caught on videotape) earlier this year. When he learned of Knight's firing, Sperber said, "No person, a coach or anyone else, is bigger than the university, and finally the trustees are putting the good of the institution ahead of a basketball coach." I look forward to the day when I see Indiana University in the news about an educational endeavor, a great school of music, or business, or something. It's long overdue, very long overdue, frankly."

Bobby Knight will coach again. The Indiana Pacers have expressed an interest in him as an assistant coach, but I doubt this will happen. His bullying tactics simply won't fly in the NBA and he could quickly find himself hanging upside down with his head through the net if he lays a hand on one of the huge players who frequent the league.

No, some school, desperate for a winning team, will hire Bobby Knight as their new Basketball Coach. They'll issue a statement that Knight has promised to toe the straight and narrow and concentrate on bringing the school a winning team. His reputation as a coach will draw good players and, no doubt, he will produce a fine team for the school. But at what cost? Bob Knight will not change and although he may wear new school colors to games, he'll be the same man-child he's always been...quick to anger and quick to respond with a violent gesture that his might makes right and how dare anyone question his authority or get in his way.

Indiana University is finally free of Bobby Knight and they are much better off because of it. Some new university is about to enter their own Bobby Knight era complete with the bad publicity his presence brings to any school. Who will he hit, kick, choke or verbally abuse next and who, from his new school, will leap to his defense telling us that Knight is misunderstood or that his words were taken out of context?

To paraphrase what Yogi Berra used to say, "It'll be deja vu all over again."

Addendum
The Associated Press
Houston-December 17, 2001

Arena Manager contends Knight offered to fight

An arena manager accused Bob Knight of cursing at him and offering to fight in a confrontation that began after the Texas Tech coach criticized the size of the building's locker rooms.

Jerry MacDonald, General Manager of the Compaq center said he approached Knight after the coach criticized the size of the arena's locker rooms in a post game new conference Friday night.

Knight responded with a flurry of profanity, MacDonald said.

He said, "If you want to settle this right now, let's step outside", MacDonald said yesterday.

Knight, in his first season at Texas Tech, was unavailable for comment.

Texas Tech had just defeated Houston 71-64.  After the game several Texas Tech officials defended Knight and criticized MacDonald as the cause of the confrontation.

The Bobby Knight show is back in business, and it goes on, an on, an on...........

Addendum
The Associated Press
Oklahoma City-October 19, 2006

Knight Agrees to Extension at Texas Texh

Oct 19, 4:58 PM (ET)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -Texas Tech coach Bob Knight has agreed to a contract extension that would keep him with the Red Raiders through 2012.   Knight, who needs 11 wins this season to become the winningest coach in NCAA Division I history, has not yet signed the extension, Tim Knight, an assistant athletic director at the university and Knight's son, said Thursday.

The contract, which also needs to be approved by the university's board of regents, would be for $300,000 a year with a guaranteed $600,000 in outside income, athletic director Gerald Myers said.

"It's not a done deal," Myers said. "We're still in the process of getting it done."

And so, once again, winning triumphs over bad behavior.  Sad, very sad.

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