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Not light on Knight Sanctions mysterious, but all university could do
Posted: Tuesday May 16, 2000 07:33 AM
Sports Illustrated college basketball writer Seth Davis discussed Indiana's punishment of Bob Knight Monday on CNN: I think this investigation was almost set up for this conclusion. If you recall, when the school originally commissioned this study, it was supposed to end in the middle of June. I question why they decided to go with this announcement now even when more revelations were continuing to come to light. But given that this pattern of behavior has gone on so long, the university has obviously tolerated Bob Knight for this long, and I think it would have been inconsistent, if not hypocritical, to fire him now just because things were being made public. Basically, Bob Knight got so huge in the state of Indiana and at Indiana University because of his three national championships, that it was much easier for administrators to look the other way. Plus, I think there was always a huge intimidation factor, that people were afraid to come forward. Now, the reality is, he hasn't won a Big Ten championship in seven years, the last six years he has not advanced past the second round of the NCAA tournament and he's had very high-profile players transfer out. I think all of that has built toward this day, but still, I think it would have been wrong for the university to fire him now when they've tolerated it for so long. As for the sanctions they did administer, it seems like Knight is only apologizing to one person (secretary Jeanette Hartgraves), and I think there are more people who are certainly deserving of an apology. In fact, Bob Knight is classic in that he doesn't like to admit when he's wrong, and he very rarely apologizes. I think of all the sanctions they handed down, the worst for him is that he has to be nice to the sportswriters. For Bob Knight, that's got to be a fate worse than death.
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