The Dagger - NCAAB

The Dagger

Fri Oct 23, 2009 2:11 pm EDT

Indiana fans really, really want Bob Knight to come back

By Eamonn Brennan

There are plenty of deep-pocketed boosters at every major athletics college. My personal favorite is T. Boone Pickens, who cares about two things: energy independence and the Oklahoma State Cowboys. These very limited interests mean Boone spends his money evenly on the two. (Not quite, but almost.)

Indiana is among these schools, and the latest evidence of that fact -- and of the semi-related fact that Indiana fans really can not get over their Bob Knight obsession, even now -- comes news from the Bloomington Herald-Times that an anonymous IU booster donated $75,000 to Indiana. But it's not just any donation. The money is planned to go toward a legal settlement between Indiana and Knight related to Knight's still-outstanding legal claim that the university failed to represent Knight in a legal claim against him. According to the story, an Indianapolis law firm drew up papers and got representatives from both IU and Knight's camp to sign it. And just like that: poof. Legal problem resolved.

It's not too hard to infer, as Indiana fans already have, that the donation is intended to help Knight settle his scores with Indiana in advance of his big Hall of Fame induction ceremony in November. IU invited Knight to the induction; Knight has yet to respond to indicate whether he's planning on attending or not. This was one of the final legal hurdles preventing Knight's return.

Here's my question: At what point does the pining over Knight's symbolic return stop being conciliatory and start being pathetic? Sure, Knight was a legendary coach, but his martyr complex after his firing -- during which he was held to the same standards as any other university employee for once in his long career -- is almost as sad as IU's constant attempts to woo him back. IU fans want Knight to show up in November. They want to see him crimson again. This is a totally natural impulse, and IU should be commended for entertaining it. But if Knight doesn't want to come, if he wants to keep pretending he was a victim for the rest of his life, and if he wants to keep acting like he had no part in his demise whatsoever, then IU should let him.

It's not exactly "He's Just Not That Into You." It's more like "He's An Angry Old Man Who Likes To Feel Sorry For Himself And Is Incapable Of Forgiveness."But the underlying premise is the same.

Related: Big Ten Basketball, College Basketball Media

digg delicious
more

90 Comments

Post a Comment
  1. jibassman
    1. Posted by jibassman Fri Oct 23, 2009 2:35 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Mr Knight is manipulating like he always did. he does not deserve to be in the hall of fame, he was FIRED!!! for heavens sake. he choked a player and many other vulgar imtimidating acts and has yet to take responsibility for any of his childish actions. i hope he stays away and by the way i live in indiana so not all hoosiers like him. how do you fire someone and then put them in your hall of fame? how stupid is IU.
  2. boots43
    2. Posted by boots43 Fri Oct 23, 2009 3:09 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    I agree with number one and I, too, am a Hoosier. In fact, I have three degrees (one bachelors and two masters) from Indiana University and I have ALWAYS thought Knight was a disgrace to the university I graduated from thrice. Worthless piece of trash is the four-word description that best fits the man with the penchant for four-letter words and whining about how everybody is always picking on him.
  3. KeithE4
    3. Posted by KeithE4 Fri Oct 23, 2009 3:11 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Note to Yahoo: The Bloomington Herald-Times won't allow the article to be read without paying. Here's a short article from the Indiana Daily Student (the IU paper in Bloomington) with a few more details: http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=71291
  4. marquette_g
    4. Posted by marquette_g Fri Oct 23, 2009 3:11 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Bob Knight = Brett Favre
    Some fans just refuse to see the real jackassery of the person.
  5. Erik
    5. Posted by Erik Fri Oct 23, 2009 3:14 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Knight's firing was - or, rather, should have been - the first step on a long road to recovery of public dignity for a fine university. Instead, by toadying to Knight's petty squabbles and his "martyr complex" IU's boosters have shown that they didn't learn a lesson from his firing, and in fact haven't learned it yet, all these years later. They've demonstrated that they considered all of Knight's crass, abusive, cave-man behavior as acceptable means to the end of winning basketball games. It's a testament to Knight's lack of class that by agreeing to show up to be honored by his former employer, he would dishonor it just as he panders to the worst instincts of his still-numerous supporters there. At this point, it's clear they deserve each other.
  6. Freedo
    6. Posted by Freedo Fri Oct 23, 2009 3:25 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Posters #1 and #2 obviously know nothing about Basketball. Poster #1 does live in Indiana but he is probably a silly Purdue fan. Poster #2 went to Indiana but he went to the basketball games because he was in the band. Indiana Basketball = Bobby Knight....Period! BTW, I too am an Alum from Indiana University. GO HOOSIERS
  7. HAROLD F
    7. Posted by HAROLD F Fri Oct 23, 2009 3:33 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    I must agree he's an egomaniac prone to be almost looney. However if I had a son wanted to play basketball at a high level while trying to achieve an education Bobby would be my choice.
  8. bear lover
    8. Posted by bear lover Fri Oct 23, 2009 3:39 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Marquette g: Bob Knight+ Brett Favre = True greatness. Something you could not recognize or appreciate . Probably due to a slight negligence in your upbringing.
  9. charlie
    9. Posted by charlie Fri Oct 23, 2009 3:50 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    sounds like poster knows what he is talking about .
  10. KeithE4
    10. Posted by KeithE4 Fri Oct 23, 2009 3:50 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Knight did a lot of good things while at IU. He made his players go to class, most of them became upstanding citizens after graduation, and he coached against the game, as opposed to coaching against the team they were playing that week. When he did that, he was successful even though it was clear from Day One that he was nuts.
    The problem was, he thought he was bigger than the university and his oversized ego caused him to be impossible to deal with. Not only that, but as he got older, his coaching and recruiting skills diminished (his last Final Four was in 1992). He had been warned many times before finally getting canned. He deserved to get fired, but he also deserves his election into the HOF and also deserves any accolades that IU would want to, and should, give him.
    But Knight's day is done. Time to cheer on Tom Crean, IU fans! He's just as good a coach, but without the temperament (at least so far).
  11. Berzirk
    11. Posted by Berzirk Fri Oct 23, 2009 4:17 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Wow, what a pathetic story. I guess the age of the 15 minute blog has really lowered journalistic requirements. A shame. Bob Knight cared more about helping create succesful people than sucessful basketball players. Did he say some things publicly that as a PC society we don't think he should, certainly. But he's one of the greatest coaches, mentors, and teachers that are alive today. God bless him and Coach K for their philosophies. I don't care for IU, TT, or Duke as sports institutions, but I'm huge fans of those two men.
  12. Jason S
    12. Posted by Jason S Fri Oct 23, 2009 4:18 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    I love posts like these....
    6. Posted by Freedo Fri Oct 23, 2009 3:25 pm EDT Report Abuse
    "Posters #1 and #2 obviously know nothing about Basketball."
    EXCELLENT POINT. Not sure why it's an excellent point, but you sure seem to think so.
    "Poster #1 does live in Indiana but he is probably a silly Purdue fan."
    Another EXCELLENT POINT. He probably is a purdue fan, so he's incapable of knowing when someone is being a douchebag (like when they choke a player, or commit other vulgar acts like saying if a woman is being raped she just needs to relax and enjoy it. Or going hunting and shooting a friend.)
    "Poster #2 went to Indiana but he went to the basketball games because he was in the band."
    Another EXCELLENT POINT, the guy we don't know was probably in the band and as we all know people in band are incapable of knowing if someone is being a douchebag (despite his 3 degrees).
    Bob Knight is a bully and the game passed him by years ago. He needs to just shut up and move on. He's always had a chip on his shoulders and I was always hoping for a day when one of his players had enough and just mopped the floor with that fat f*Ck.
  13. Blake
    13. Posted by Blake Fri Oct 23, 2009 4:44 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Agree with #6, well said and couldn't say it better. IU alum
  14. GAMM JAMMER
    14. Posted by GAMM JAMMER Fri Oct 23, 2009 4:48 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Bobby Knight put Bloomington on the map.....nuff said. He was like the strict teacher in highschool you hated but after a few years you wanted to go back and thank. Many if not most of his former players have a great realationship with Bobby way after graduation and I said yes, graduation. Get the facts, don't believe the negative hype, he was good for the game and good for IU and good for Indaina. Come on back Bobby!!!
  15. Arthur
    15. Posted by Arthur Fri Oct 23, 2009 4:50 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Bob Knight is the greatest college basketball coach in modern history. Problem is that his masculinity was just too much for today's emasculated society to deal with. Men like Bobby Knight should have statues built for them. It was on the back of men like Knight that our world was built on. Now...with our civilization in decline we look at successful driven men as "oppressors".
  16. KeithE4
    16. Posted by KeithE4 Fri Oct 23, 2009 5:24 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Re: Post #14 - Sorry to disappoint, but Bloomington had been on the college basketball map for many years before Knight arrived. They won two NCAA championships under Branch McCracken. Granted, that was before the TV era (1940 & 1953), but they were already a national BB power, albeit one that had diminished in the mid-late '60s after McCracken retired.
    Saying Knight put Bloomington on the map is like saying Chapel Hill NC was a hoops backwater before Dean Smith arrived at UNC. They were already a power as well.
  17. Big G
    17. Posted by Big G Fri Oct 23, 2009 6:58 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Yet all those degrees did you no good, your observations are worthless. The man graduated more guys than anyone else. He made them good citizens after ife. This is a guy who has an ego & that is why IU won & he is still beloved here. Those first 2 posts were from kids whose parents didn't let them play outside with the rest of the world. The man was never a disgrace, he did far more good than embarrassing things. He was a hard nosed old school coach who believed in sound fundamental basketball. I'm having a son in 2 months & if I can teach him to be half the hard nosed man Knight was, then at least I know he can survive in todays world. We need more men today than ever with all of the cream puffs like posts 1 & 2 running around this earth.
  18. richard s
    18. Posted by richard s Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:00 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Indiana fans must be on crack if they want the chair-throwing bob knight to coach the hoosiers!
  19. Big G
    19. Posted by Big G Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:01 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    By the way post #12 just because some guy says he has 3 degrees doesn't mean its true or he knows anything about Bobby Knight. By the way you write & post I'm sure education level has to be at least 3 degrees too.
  20. rob
    20. Posted by rob Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:13 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    bring back bobby. i have 3 degrees too. you have to love his passion for the game. get over it haters
  21. Robert C
    21. Posted by Robert C Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:55 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    That last paragraph is classic. Good stuff!
  22. David M
    22. Posted by David M Fri Oct 23, 2009 8:03 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    I think one of the problems we have in the USA right now is our lack of backbone. When someone says some naughty words or uses intimidating behavior, the rest of us solid citizens and good Christians are always around to point fingers and throw stones. It makes us feel superior, and you know how Americans LOVE to feel superior.
    In the case of Coach Knight, here's a guy with backbone. He doesn't take any crap! Just because you don't agree with his methods of teaching/coaching doesn't mean a thing. You're weak, and what the heck do you know, anyway? I'm a fan of a rival Big Ten school, and I've always admired and respected Coach Knight. It's way harder to continue standing up for what you believe than it is to bow to pressure. Was he right ALL the time? Of course not. But take a look at what your beloved university has come up with since Coack Knight was let go: Sampson and Crean? Are you kidding me? Sampson disgraced your university more in the years he was there than Coach Knight did (with a few ESPN highlight reel moments) over several decades. Crean will be the next to do so, mark my words.
    History will prove that Coach Knight was not only one of the winningest coaches but also one of the best and overall most respected.
  23. Kenneth S
    23. Posted by Kenneth S Fri Oct 23, 2009 8:05 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    When Bobby Knight finally dies, a generation will die.
    A generation of people who had to EARN respect, even with talent. Who said maam and sir to ANYONE older than they were.
    A generation who sacrificed when they had nothing... not live off of welfare and play sports since they were too lazy to get an education. And THEN complain its whiteys fault.
    Raising children... and college kids are JUST 1 step above being a child is like coaching. You must recognize each individual for things that they know and things they need to learn. And with most inner city college players, they need to learn ALOT.
    Bobby Knight made the best with the least. He not only made championships, he made men. Men who went on to great things after basketball was over.
    He did it with the tools that mankind and families used for thousands of years. Mentoring, teaching, corporal punishment, and demand for excellance.
    You cant compare Tom Crean to Bobby Knight... wins and losses seperate great coaches, they dont seperate great men.
    Last I checked... Kelvin Sampson was considered a great coach, but obviously not a great man.
  24. David M
    24. Posted by David M Fri Oct 23, 2009 8:15 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Amen #23. Your conclusions are head and shoulders above mine, SIR!
  25. dladla@...
    25. Posted by dladla@... Fri Oct 23, 2009 9:08 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Here's my question: At what point does every, every single famous/unknown, talented/hack sports writer stop writing any, any negative and pathetic angle they can come up with on Knight or start paying him royalties for having lived off stories about him for years.

The Dagger

Add to My Yahoo! RSS

Jeff Eisenberg

The Dagger is a college basketball blog edited by Jeff Eisenberg. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

Contributors:
Chris Chase, Matt Norlander,

Related Photo Gallery

More NCAAB Photos »

Featured NCAAB Video

More Videos »

Y! Sports Blogs

The Dagger Recent Readers

(provided by MyBlogLog)