Why Bob Knight should bag it

Indiana University's basketball coach is an angry, vulgar, violent creep, but that's not the reason he should resign.

By Eric Boehlert

Apr 3, 2000 | There's a sound file of Indiana University's basketball coach, Bob Knight, that's become a staple on Web sites run by full-time Knight-haters (i.e. University of Kentucky fans.) It's a tirade captured while he verbally undressed players for what he considered to be a shoddy practice effort.

For fans, it's a rare fly-on-the-wall moment that takes them behind the locker-room doors and lets them listen in on how big-time college basketball feels when the ESPN cameras are not around.

For literally hundreds of IU players past and present though, the tape simply captured an unpleasant ritual played out countless times since Knight the taskmaster arrived on the picturesque Bloomington, Ind., campus in 1971, quickly turning the school into a hoops powerhouse and becoming a Hoosier legend in his own time.

But until you listen for yourself and hear the hostility, the vein-popping anger and the resentment (not to mention the vulgarities) pour out of Knight's mouth, it's hard to really understand the man's ferocious, almost inhuman temper. Yet even from reading the text of the diatribe, what's so telling, aside from how he relishes his godlike ability to torment and threaten his players, is that the anger's all about Knight, about how his players have wronged him and made his life miserable:

Now I am tired of this shit. I'm sick and fucking tired of an 8-10 record. I'm fucking tired of losing to Purdue. I'm not here to fuck around this week. Now you may be, but I'm not. Now I am gonna fucking guarantee you, that if we don't play up there Monday night, you aren't gonna believe the next four fucking days. Now I am not here to get my ass beat on Monday. Now you better fucking understand that right now. This is absolute fucking bullshit. Now I'll fucking run your ass right into the ground. I mean I'll fucking run you, you'll think last night was a fucking picnic. I had to sit around for a fucking year with an 8-10 record in this fucking league and I mean you will not put me in that fucking position again, or you will goddamn pay for it like you can't fucking believe. Now, you better get your head out of your ass.

That cult recording sprang to mind in the wake of the latest allegation aired by CNN/Sports Illustrated that the mercurial Knight had choked one former player and verbally abused scores of others. Those accusations, coupled with the steady stream of top recruits who have fled the Indiana campus for more humane destinations, are just the latest in a string of on- and off-the-court embarrassments that threaten to tarnish what had been a brilliant coaching career.

But as is Knight's custom, he's refused to apologize for his actions. ("I'm not sure just what the hell it is that I'm supposed to apologize for," said Knight, feigning confusion about the facts.) Instead he lashes out at his enemies, whether they're "bitter," "malcontent" ex-players who have the nerve to speak out, or the press corps that asks the questions. (Think of him as the Rudy Giuliani of college hoops.)

Knight argues he's immune to criticism because he's never been convicted of any NCAA recruiting violations and he molds decent citizens. And right there beside him overseeing the smear campaigns against any Knight critics are school officials who refuse to grasp reality and deal seriously with any of Knight's shameful episodes. "The president of IU's trustees, John Walda, is tucked so deeply into Knight's pocket that he comes equipped with a key chain and lint," wrote Indianapolis Star sports columnist, and IU alum, Bill Benner.

Consequently, Indiana University, one of the country's great state-run educational institutions, now runs the risk of becoming a national joke at the willing hands of its blustering coach Knight. Knight should spare the school that embarrassment and call it quits.

His abhorrent behavior over the years would be one thing. (To recap: He once told Connie Chung during an interview, "If rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it"; he shoved a Louisiana State University fan into a garbage can; he threw a chair across the court as a Purdue player was getting ready to shoot a free-throw; and he was convicted in abstentia for punching a policeman in Puerto Rico where Knight was representing America as coach of the U.S. team at the Pan Am Games.)

But the new and more pressing concern is that Knight's basketball teams are no longer very good. With college hoop fanatics preparing for tonight's NCAA finals, Hoosier fans have had nothing to do but ponder next season. That's because Knight's team bowed out in the first round of the 64-team tourney, getting thoroughly embarrassed by Pepperdine University. (No giant killers, Pepperdine was beaten handily in the next round by a talented Oklahoma State squad.)

When IU lost in the first round in 1990, it was a shocking blow to the school and its loyal fans in a state where basketball reigns supreme. Now, those first-round NCAA Hoosier losses have become commonplace. Four times in the past six years Knight's teams haven't advanced to the second round, a truly dreadful record, considering big-time basketball programs are judged by how they perform during the crucial month of March.

At one point this year, IU's squad was ranked in the top 10 in the country, only to stumble through February and then lose its final three games of the year, ending at a mediocre 20-9. In a business where top coaches are supposed to have their teams peaking in early spring, Knight now accomplishes just the opposite, with his teams regularly folding during March Madness.

In fact, most coaches at a big-time Division I basketball school would be shown the door if they posted the paltry NCAA numbers Knight has recently racked up. But Knight, it appears, can do no wrong. The day after the humiliating Pepperdine loss, the Indianapolis Star ran an online poll asking readers what Knight's future should be; more than half checked off "Go get 'em next year."

Next Page: It's painful to watch the Hoosiers' joyless motions on the court

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