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A.J. and Bobby Foyt, Knight friends off track, basketball court
Posted: Monday May 15, 2000 02:31 PM
INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- When it comes to sports icons in the state of Indiana, there are none bigger than four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt and Indiana University basketball coach Bob Knight. With the possible exception of Larry Bird, an Indiana basketball legend, Foyt and Knight are two bigger-than-life individuals in the Hoosier State. Foyt and Knight have known each other for 25 years. The two have similar personalities -- both as famous for their fiery tempers as they are for their achievements in their respective sports. When Foyt was a driver, he was considered unapproachable by the media. He even slugged a few reporters through the years, including Robin Miller of The Indianapolis Star in a celebrated incident on pit lane in 1981. After a disappointing qualifying run on Pole Day in 1985, Foyt was interviewed over the public address system at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and said, “The car ran like a tub of (crap).” That drew a huge roar from the estimated 250,000 in attendance. But Foyt was the greatest winner in Indy car racing, and that is why he was so beloved by the fans. Just as Foyt rules the hearts of fans on race day at the Indianapolis 500, Knight rules the state during the basketball season. When it comes to fits of temper, there is nobody else in the same league as Knight, who demands perfection from his players and has little tolerance for imperfection. So with Knight's future at Indiana University in jeopardy, Foyt came out in defense of the coaching legend today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “I think a lot of people are dragging up a bunch of (crap) that happened 10 or 12 years ago, and I think that is very unfair,” Foyt said. “I think he is one of the greatest college basketball coaches who ever set foot on a court. I think his players have been very professional and respect him highly. “I think you have a bunch of crybabies trying to throw a bunch of crap at him and I don't go for that crap. He has worked hard all of his life.” Foyt will be the first to admit he and Knight share the same temperament. “A lot of people bad-mouth me, but I can't help it,” Foyt said. “When I feel I'm right, I'm going to say I'm right and I'm going to prove it. “You know what I really respect him for? About four or five years ago, he set his own boy down (Patrick) and I respect him highly for that because he was screwing up. That shows he didn't have any favorites.” Foyt has the utmost respect for Knight's accomplishments at Indiana. “Anybody who works as hard as he does, I respect,” Foyt said. “All I can say is I respect anybody because it wasn't given to him. He didn't make his name by being an idiot. He didn't make his name by blowing his mouth off. He made his name by producing. “When people bring up stuff from 10 or 12 years ago, that's a cheap shot. I think they are pretty little people. Those are people who couldn't have made it playing basketball.” Foyt said he would be saddened -- and outraged -- if Knight is ousted as head coach. “That will be a (lousy) deal if he is ousted,” Foyt said. “I think it will be very unfair. I know things have changed in the modern day. I've had to settle down and I think he has settled down quite a bit from what he was 20 years ago. “At the same time, you get some (jerks) like that on the board that want to oust him because some crybaby said he choked him when he really didn't. If I choked you, you are going to know it because you will be on the floor for a while. He might have grabbed him and scolded him, but he didn't choke him.” Today's society has a low tolerance for disciplinarians, Foyt said, which makes men like him and Knight dinosaurs. “What's wrong with the kids today?” Foyt asked. “You never used to see all this shooting from kids in school and now you see it. Why? Because the parents don't discipline them. “Everybody has skeletons in the closet, but bringing stuff up from 15 years ago just want to be in a witch hunt. He hasn't gone and killed his wife, like some guys have done. He might raise hell and blow up, but he has never done that. Now if he did that, then it would be time to do something to him. But go back and check what the guys on the board of trustees have done. You'd be surprised.” Foyt said he has been as guilty as anyone in sports for having a bad temper and admits he feels bad about some of his legendary explosions. “If you are going to be a No. 1 leader and you want to win, you are going to have to hurt somebody's feelings and everything is not going to be perfect,” he said. “It's like with me, all I've wanted to do is win. A lot of times, I have jumped on my crew and said things that I've regretted later. It has hurt me more than it did them. But that is the difference between winning and losing.” Foyt's most memorable display recently came at Texas Motor Speedway in 1997 when he slapped Arie Luyendyk in victory lane after a scoring dispute. Foyt's driver at the time, Billy Boat, was declared the winner, but the timing and scoring system had failed and Luyendyk actually was the winner of the race. “I've apologized before,” Foyt said. “It's the deal with Luyendyk, I felt real bad afterwards. But at the time, you don't know why you did it. “I've settled down a hell of a lot since I was a driver. I was concentrating on my driving and worrying about how to win. I didn't care about what people wrote and said. If I had time to talk to them, I would, but otherwise, I wouldn't. A lot of people write crap about Bobby Knight and he feels like I do, that it's a bunch of ... crap.”
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