| | By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Top Indiana administrators want to clear up a misconception about
the zero-tolerance policy placed on men's basketball coach Bob Knight:
Knight's future doesn't ride on whether or not he can control his temper
on the bench or on the practice court, but rather his ability to curb his
unacceptable behavior in the workplace.
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Post-interview reaction
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After their hour-long live interview with Indiana coach Bob Knight on Tuesday, Roy Firestone and Digger Phelps chatted with ESPN.com users. Here are some of their responses:
Question: What is your feeling towards the victims of Bob Knight's anger, and do you believe he has any sympathy for them?
Firestone: At the end of the interview I tried to get him to apologize for all
that he has done and he definitely did not. I think he humiliated his
victims, and humiliation is a horrible thing. I think he still lives in a
bubble and doesn't realize what he has done.
Question: Having been a coach yourself, when you have coached a certain
way for so long, do you feel from a coach's perspective that Mr. Knight will be able to
change a 29-year coaching style?
Phelps: Yes, I think he will. He knows he has to change his attitude and has to
get a handle on his temper. I think he will adjust his temper so he can realize when he is
about to go across the line. I think he will be able to work under these guidelines. That is
what he said on the show. |
While the seven-week investigation into Knight's behavior began as a
result of an allegation that Knight choked a player during a practice,
the investigation concluded with details of abusive behavior toward fellow
employees at the school during Knight's 29-year tenure.
"He's not going to get fired for a technical foul," said Stephen
Backer, one of the nine members on Indiana University's board of trustees. "We're
talking about his civility and his physical conduct. Those issues are
black and white when they are an embarrassment to the university."
In his first televised interview since the reprimand, Knight said on
ESPN Tuesday night that he simply needs to "be able to do all the time basically what
I've done most of the time" to adhere to the zero-tolerance policy.
But he didn't address the specific incidents where he was abusive to
employees, such as athletic department assistant Jeanette Hartgraves,
athletics director Clarence Doninger or sports information director Kit
Klingelhoffer. All three alleged that they were threatened by his behavior
with the incidents ranging from verbal abuse to a vase being tossed to a punch.
Knight said he apologized to certain individuals over the years who
were humiliated by his actions.
But it is these types of actions that would now get Knight automatically
dismissed, according to Doninger, who chairs the committee coming up with
the athletic department-wide zero-tolerance policy. Backer said Knight was
correct when he said Tuesday night that he didn't have any rules on him in
the past. He will by the start of the season, but they will deal with his
behavior in the hallways of an arena, in the offices of athletic
department personnel and in the restaurants in and around Bloomington.
None of these type of behaviors were specifically addressed Tuesday
night in the ESPN interview.
Knight said he came back to Indiana because of IU president Myles Brand, his loyalty to his players and
his enjoyment of coaching them. But what was missing from the interview was his
remorsefulness for the incidents off the court to the people he works with
and his superiors in the athletic department.
"I have all sorts of personal feelings and for me to express them
now won't do anyone any good," said Doninger, who hasn't spoken to Knight
since Feb. 19 when he was confronted by the Hall of Fame coach after the
Hoosiers lost to Ohio State at Assembly Hall.
"But in going forward, we mean that Bob has to have appropriate
behavior with respect to the basketball program and the department,"
Doninger said. "That doesn't mean just in a game but in the workplace.
"Obviously there are times when a technical may be acceptable behavior,"
Doninger said. "A technical in certain situations is called for when a
team has a run on you. Every coach has some of those. I think there could
be a technical in a game situation that would be acceptable behavior."
Doninger and Backer said the questions about Knight's behavior in the
workplace -- off the court -- weren't asked Tuesday night, nor did he
volunteer answers on the subject.
While Backer said he saw humility from Knight, he said the real Bob Knight
was in plain view.
"Not all of Bob Knight is good but not all of him is bad either," Backer
said. "He admitted he has human frailties and his inability to control his
temper."
In the ESPN interview, Knight made clear that he didn't go to Brand's house on
May 13 and apologize for his actions, but rather to say that he would
accept any guidelines the president had for him.
"Bob has indicated, again (Tuesday), that he will live within the
parameters set forth and go forward as the basketball coach of Indiana,"
Doninger said. "I want to go forward. We can't undo things that happened
in the past. So let's go forward."
But Doninger and Backer want to make certain that Knight can only
go forward if he behaves in a civil, "normal," fashion in the workplace.
Bob Knight will remain an intense, driven and demanding coach. But
they wanted to make it clear that he can't expect to keep coaching if he turns into a bully once he walks off the court.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. | |
ALSO SEE
Knight says he needs to control temper 'all the time'
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