Knight stays, his fight goes

Indiana coach Bob Knight keeps his job, but he is punished for outbursts and faces a "zero-tolerance policy."

[Times files, 1999]

Bob Knight's statement includes an apology to a secretary and a general apology. "I have absolutely no problem with guidelines," he said.  Hubert Mizell: He deserves to stay

By Times wire services

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 16, 2000

INDIANAPOLIS -- Bob Knight's first 29 years at Indiana won't cost him a 30th.

Knight, the Indiana University basketball coach whose name has become a synonym for controversy, was reprimanded by the school Monday for various outbursts through the years. Indiana president Myles Brand told a packed news conference that there will be a "zero-tolerance policy" regarding Knight in the future.

Knight also was suspended for three games and fined $30,000, which will be withheld from his salary. Thus ended a two-month investigation into Knight's behavior that covered incidents as far back as the mid-1980s.

Two chief allegations were substantiated by the school's board of trustees:

Knight choked former player Neil Reed during a 1997 practice.

Knight verbally abused secretary Jeanette Hartgraves during a tirade outside the office of athletic director Clarence Doninger.

These two incidents fit into a pattern of behavior by Knight, 59, who has avoided major sanctions in the past even though his temper has been well known. The trustees gave Brand authority to make the final decision. Until the final 24 hours, it appeared that Knight might lose his job.

"These are tough directives," Brand said. "We're asking Bob Knight to live up to a code of conduct above any coach in the country. It's a zero-tolerance policy."

Brand met with Knight for more than two hours Saturday night and said the coach was contrite and apologetic. In a statement, Knight said he understood Brand's decision.

"I have absolutely no problem with guidelines," said Knight, who left for a European vacation Monday. "As I have said before, I recognize that I have a problem with my temper. For those times it has ever caused me to do anything that gave anyone understandable and justifiable reason to be upset, I am sincerely sorry."

Brand said Knight would apologize to Hartgraves. But the Indiana president said the general apology would suffice for those involved in the other incidents.

John Walda, one of the trustees who led the investigation, said Reed's charge that Knight brandished soiled toilet paper to motivate his team had "little credibility." He also dismissed Reed's allegation that Brand was banished by Knight from a Hoosier practice.

It's doubtful the $30,000 fine will bother Knight, who for years donated his sneaker-endorsement money to the university.

The zero-tolerance policy is the one that bears watching. Knight will be under an even brighter spotlight than usual. Brand said the new policy even covers Knight's interactions with the media, and that a belligerent rant by Knight at a news conference conceivably could be cause for the coach's firing.

Essentially, Knight's fiery 29-year reign was put in jeopardy by 2.3 seconds of a single practice. That's how long Knight had a hand on Reed's neck. Reed aired his grievance on CNN/SI, which eventually showed videotape of the incident. A forensics examiner concluded that Knight did in fact choke Reed; Knight removed his hand from Reed's neck on his own.

Without Reed's allegation, the investigation never would have started. For years, Knight has been criticized for his eruptions; he is as famous for throwing a chair across a court as he is for winning three national titles.

And for years, Indiana defended Knight. The school never levied meaningful sanctions against him.

"There is some shared responsibility," Brand said. "I think the university could have done better in the past. We will rectify that."

Doninger, who was not involved in the investigation, did not offer an opinion on the decision. As for rumors that he might resign, Doninger said, "I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet."

The Indianapolis Star reported recently that after Indiana lost to Ohio State in January, Doninger tried to console Knight, only to be berated. The Star reported that Doninger felt physically threatened in the incident.

Other recent allegations include a scuffle between Knight and former assistant Ron Felling and one between Knight and sports information director Kit Klingelhoffer, in which Klingelhoffer allegedly was knocked out.

With 763 career wins, Knight is 116 away from the record of 879 held by former North Carolina coach Dean Smith.

Knight's recent teams, however, have struggled in the NCAA Tournament. Last season, the Hoosiers lost in the first round to Pepperdine.

Knight's players generally fall into two categories. There are the disgruntled players who leave, like Reed, Luke Recker and Jason Collier. Then there are those who defend the coach's every action, saying that his players usually graduate and become productive members of society.

"These allegations have come out years after the fact," said guard Dane Fife, who said he would have transferred had Knight been fired. "I don't know what happened two years ago, 10 years ago, and I don't particularly care. Coach Knight kind of has a football coach's mentality. ... But I love it. I love playing for Coach Knight."

When the news came, the 100 people at Nick's English Hut in Bloomington cheered. They rang the bar's iron bell in honor of Knight.

"What can you say? He owns the town," patron Ed Dyer said.

On campus, where the student body is reduced to those attending summer school, there were no great whoops of support, no banners endorsing Knight, and overall, no shock at the ruling.

"I don't think it was really a surprise that he wasn't asked to leave," said Scott Witoszynski, student body vice president.

Jim Sherman, psychology professor and president of the University Faculty Council, said the school's image is not tarnished.

"The university is not defined by Robert Montgomery Knight," he said.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

Headlines

Americans Lose in 1st Round of Davis Cup

---