Bob Knight’s apologists didn’t waste any time defending their favorite tyrant in the aftermath of his abuse (again) of one of his players.
Former coach Fran Fraschilla, who saw Knight’s actions against sophomore forward Michael Prince as part the ESPN’s broadcast crew working Monday’s men’s basketball game between Texas Tech and Gardner-Webb, said the hit on Prince’s jaw was not out of the realm of normal coaching behavior.
Former Purdue coach Gene Keady turned on Prince’s parents, suggesting that, had they disciplined the kid at home, they wouldn’t need Knight to discipline him during a timeout.
Then there’s the normal assortment of Knight’s protectors who blame the media for supposedly blowing the incident out of proportion, as we did in every other incident involving Knight.
Which, let’s remember, are legion.
The one person at Texas Tech who could have taken a stand for what’s right wilted like a violet in the Sahara. Athletic director Gerald Myers said in a prepared statement that Knight did nothing wrong, that Knight didn’t slap Prince, that he merely lifted the kid’s chin, told him to hold his head up and don’t worry about making mistakes.
Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg also wanted no part of it, saying that it is “an institutional matter.”
Institutional matter. Unfortunately, he wasn’t talking about Folsom Prison.
You’ve seen the replays. Myers is right. It wasn’t a slap. It was an assault. Prince was seen afterward on the bench, working his jaw, making sure it was still on his face.
Myers also fabricates about what Knight said to Prince, and you don’t have to be a professional lip-reader to figure it out.
Even Prince’s parents are in Knight’s corner. They put out a statement to the effect that they, too, had been after their son to look them in the eye as a part of paying attention.
All that proves is that enablers aren’t limited to those in Knight’s immediate family. For me, lay a hand on my kid and I rip your house down.
Knight does have his good points. He’s never been linked to a recruiting violation. His friends swear by his loyalty. He’s old school with old-school values and methods, they say. Parents who send their kids to Knight know what they’re getting into.
Fine, call Bob Knight a stand-up guy.
But that’s when he’s not punching a cop in Puerto Rico, stuffing an LSU fan in a garbage can, head-butting one of his players (he said it was an accident), choking another player, kicking a chair while his own son sits in it, throwing a chair across the court, grabbing a sophomore by the jersey and jerking him into his seat, telling journalist Connie Chung “I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it” and getting into a loud verbal spat with Texas Tech’s chancellor at a Lubbock grocery store.
Knight’s defenders claim that, had any other coach been caught similarly slapping a player, it wouldn’t have been news. Sadly, the reverse is true. This latest incident, while reprehensible as can be, isn’t news anymore in light of Knight’s colorful resume of Woody Hayes behavior. It’s just another item in a long list of bullying behavior.
On the contrary: It would be big news if Lorenzo Romar took a swipe at one of his players. Now THAT would be shocking.
We’re so used to Knight’s exploits that this time he will neither be suspended nor fined. He even said he’d do it again. Well, why not? He’s got everyone in power in his pocket.
Very soon, Bob Knight will break Dean Smith’s career record for victories. There’s a riot. Smith knew the value of vocal tone in coaching. He never needed to raise a hand to his players, except on the many occasions when he hugged them.
In Knight’s world, a choke and a slap are just as acceptable as coaching tools as whistles and chalk.
Forgive me if I don’t celebrate the day he breaks Smith’s record.
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