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Mood swing Winds of change blooming in Bloomington
Posted: Saturday May 13, 2000 12:25 PM
By John Giannone, CNNSI.com BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- For 29 years, Bob Knight has been a galvanizing force and a lightning rod of debate among the campus community of Bloomington. Yet now, as the headlines grow, the allegations mount and Knight's job status looms, that fervent foundation of support is beginning to crack. "There are people in town that are certainly loyal to Coach Knight and will be really loyal to him to the very end," said Bob Zaltsberg, editor of the Bloomington Herald-Times. "But I think the group that probably is starting to be a little less loyal is his main base, may be deteriorating a little bit." At least one faculty member at Indiana contends that if this situation drags on, it will only get worse for all involved. "I think it's going to be a great embarrassment to the university," says David Pisoni, a professor of psychology. "It's an embarrassment for the state of Indiana, the current administration, the governor's office, and it's an embarrassment for the coach." As for the student reaction, it depends on who you ask. "It's an Indiana thing," said one. "Bobby Knight is Indiana. And for that reason, no matter how bad he gets, you'll never see him leave unless he retires." "If the allegation is true," says another, "I think he should take the easy way out and resign to just avoid any further complication in this story and just to avoid playing with a reputation of this university."
"I'd say my opinion still stands on how it is," said a third. "That's Bobby Knight. That's his coaching. That's just the way he is." The Indiana board of trustees is scheduled to meet Sunday in its quest to expand the investigation against Knight. Meanwhile, Knight reportedly plans to meet this weekend with university president Myles Brand. All the while, the Hoosier basketball team continues informal workouts inside Assembly Hall. For the players who spend nearly every day with Knight, the frustration level is peaking. "It seems like the athletic department is in a shambles right now," said junior guard Dane Fife. "We've got some people for coach Knight and some people against coach Knight. Again, it's just killing our whole team." And Fife makes it quite clear what he will do if Knight leaves Indiana. "The bottom line is coach Knight is the reason I came here. And if he leaves, I'm leaving." For junior guard/forward Kyle Hornsby, life under Knight has been anything but negative. "He treats me great," Hornsby said. "I have no complaints whatsoever. He pushes me like he pushes all his players. And [he] wants me to be the best player that I can be and the best person I can be. Not just player, but person. I want him here and I think every player wants him here."
Senior forward Tom Geyer agreed, adding that he feels the entire team is backing its coach. "We'd really like to see him get through this. We're in strong support of him. We really haven't come out and said much. But we just want coach to know we support him." A decision on Knight's employment status could have a significant impact not only on next year's Indiana roster, but for years down the road. That's because high school All-American Jared Jefferies, the Hoosiers' top incoming recruit, is making some thinly veiled and very vocal threats. "We committed to this school, to this university but we also committed to coach Knight," says Jefferies. "If Coach Knight isn't here, we have to look at our future as possibly leaving the school, [and] playing somewhere else. "I think the coach is the greatest coach and that's why I came here, to play for him. I support him 100 percent and I really hope I play for him next year." On Thursday, Indiana spokesman Christopher Simpson said that although Knight is a fully tenured professor, his actions as head basketball coach shouldn't fall under a professor's guidelines of conduct. That led to a rather pointed criticism by Pisoni on Friday. "My first response is that Christopher Simpson should produce a documentation and show me in the handbook where it says that as a basketball coach there is one set of behaviors that is important and as a faculty member there is another set of behaviors. "From the beginning, I felt and have spoken out that the investigation would produce a report, if we ever get to see it, which would be non-credible." Barring any unexpected developments, the result of that investigation by board of trustees is expected by mid-June.
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