Integrity – Bob Knight Is Full of It

December 18, 2009 Frank

This is why I’m afraid to get old. You’re body starts wearing on you, you start growing nose hair more rapidly than a Chia Pet, you’re glory days are over, you’ve seen every rerun of Murder She Wrote at least 10 times, and worst of all, you may become senile. Watching Bobby Knight over the past few decades you may wonder if he started his senility a little sooner than most. In any case, with the comments he made last night at the Indiana Hall of Fame dinner, it’s obvious old age has gotten the best of him. It’s also worth noting Indiana is currently on probation (ironic?). Here’s the quote:

“We’ve gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that’s why I’m glad I’m not coaching. You see we’ve got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation and he’s still coaching. I really don’t understand that.”

To the casual college basketball observer these comments may seem deserved. John Calipari did vacate final four appearances at two schools right? Not so fast, Derrick Rose and Marcus Camby did. I’m not going to get into the details because this topic has been beaten so hard it probably resembles Tiger Woods’ face after Elin and the 9 iron got done with him (and you wonder why he hasn’t come forward to address the situation). However I will state 2 quick FACTS:

The NCAA specifically mentioned Calipari in it’s report on the Marcus Camby incident as having no way of knowing what was happening, much less having anything to do with the money Marcus received by a wanna-be sports agent. I’ll also note this money was given to Camby WHILE he was at UMass in hopes he would sign with that agent when he became a professional, not in an attempt to recruit Camby. The NCAA punished the wrong people.
In the case of Derrick Rose, the NCAA clearinghouse cleared him to play. Enough said. It is not Memphis or John Calipari’s responsibility to second guess when the NCAA grants eligibility to a player. And has it struck anyone that pretty much every school in the country would have gladly taken this kid who was deemed eligible? Once again, the NCAA punished the wrong people. They should have punished themselves.

Now that we’ve established Knight, like most sports writers/personalities, did not do his homework in his irresponsible jab at John Calipari, let’s get to the good stuff.

Bob Knight’s Integrity

Okay Bob, since you seem to be an expert on the topic of integrity as shown by your public judging of coaches, let’s take a look at a few of your memorable moments over your career. Here’s a time line courtesy of IndyStar.com:

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July 1979 — Arrested in Puerto Rico, charged with assaulting a police officer; convicted in absentia in August.

1980 — Fires a starting pistol at postgame news conference to startle a Louisville newspaper reporter.

Feb. 23, 1985 — Throws a chair across the floor during a loss to Purdue. Three technical fouls, ejection from the game, and national attention.

Nov. 21, 1987 — Knight won’t leave the floor after being ejected. He drew three technical fouls which resulted in the game being forfeited to the Soviet Union team. Knight later is reprimanded by IU.

April 25, 1988 — Provokes outrage during an NBC interview with Connie Chung. In describing the experience of losing, he said, “I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it.”

March 25, 1992 — Knight pretends to whip black player Calbert Cheaney, drawing national attention and protest from the local NAACP and other black leaders.

Dec. 7, 1993 — Pulls son Patrick from the game and appears to kick him in the leg. Crowd boos.

March 9, 1994 — Butts heads with Sherron Wilkerson during a courtside huddle.

March 17, 1995 — IU fined a record $30,000 after Knight berates an NCAA volunteer at a news conference following IU’s first-round loss to Missouri.

March 1998 — Knight pays a $10,000 fine, rather than accept a suspension from an NCAA tournament game. The fine resulted from derogatory remarks Knight made to referee Ted Valentine during a February game against Illinois.

June 1999 — Christopher Foster accuses Knight of choking him during an altercation in the parking lot of Nuestra Mexico, an Ellettsville Mexican restaurant.

Oct. 12, 1999 — Injures longtime friend Thomas Mikunda in a hunting accident in Wisconsin. He was cited for failure to report a hunting accident and two violations involving hunting without a license.

Feb. 19, 2000 — Knight berates his boss, Athletics Director Clarence Doninger, when Doninger tries to console the coach after a loss to OSU. Doninger later said he felt physically threatened by Knight.

March 14, 2000 — In a televised CNN/Sports Illustrated report, Neil Reed alleges Knight grabbed him by the neck during a 1997 practice, that Knight ejected IU President Myles Brand for talking during a practice and that the coach wiped himself with toilet tissue in front of players to make a point.

May 10, 2000 — Jeanette Hartgraves, secretary to the IU athletics director, tells The Star she felt physically threatened by Knight in a February 1998 confrontation in which he called her a “f—— bitch” and was advancing on her in anger. Clarence Doninger, stepped in to restrain Knight. Hartgraves also told of an episode in the late 1980s in which an angry Knight flung a potted plant against a wall, shattering a ceramic pot and a glass picture frame. Hartgraves said she was showered by glass and debris but not injured.

May 11, 2000 — Two more accusations surface about violent behavior by Knight. WTHR (Channel 13) reports that Knight attacked assistant coach Ron Felling and threw him off a chair after overhearing Felling criticizing the basketball program in a telephone conversation. Other sources told The Star that Knight choked and punched IU’s longtime sports information director, Kit Klingelhofer, in the 1970s, over a news release that upset the coach.

Sept. 10, 2000 — At a Sunday news conference, IU President Myles Brand announces he fired Knight after he refused a request to resign. Brand cited several instances of unacceptable behavior by Knight since the zero-tolerance policy was instituted, not just the altercation with Kent Harvey, for his decision.

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So Bob, next time you question the character of a person and especially their “integrity”, you may want to take a look in the mirror.