I grew up in Indiana and graduated from Indiana University in 1991. After living in the Chicagoland area for the past two years I have grown extremely tired of the criticism of coach Bobby Knight.
For years I have watched Purdue coach Gene Keady scream, yell, rant and rave on the sidelines while slamming his suit jacket onto the court. Where were the news media or the NCAA sanctions committee then? I also watched Temple coach John Chaney threaten to kill another coach at a press conference after a Temple loss. That story was actually covered by the news media, but where was his fine?
And then what about Jimmy Valvano? For several years during his coaching career at North Carolina State, not a single player graduated. Scary thought, isn’t it?
Why doesn’t the news media ever focus on the graduation percentage of Coach Knight’s players (more than 90 percent for his four-year players) or on his involvement in fundraising for the Indiana University library and various literacy campaigns? That does not make for a good story, though.
Maybe I should just join the bandwagon and start a petition to ask for Coach Knight’s resignation. I’m sure Jerry Tarkanian would love to be a Hoosier.
