How sad and ironic that Philip Hersh should cite Bob Knight as an example of all that is wrong with college athletics (Tribune, March 29). According to the 1997 NCAA Division I Graduate Rates Report, Indiana has the highest graduation rate among all Division I basketball programs. Overall, the graduation rate at Indiana during Knight’s tenure is 95 percent. At Indiana it is simple: You go to class or you get tossed off the team. Knight has maintained these standards while winning three national championships and 11 Big Ten titles. It is no wonder that the president of Indiana University and the governor of Indiana wholeheartedly support him. He has guaranteed the level of integrity for which Andrew Bagnato pines in his article about NU’s point-shaving debacle. Yet, writers like Hersh (and Steve Rosenbloom and Ed Sherman) would continue to attack Knight because they do not agree with his coaching style or his strong language (or perhaps his distaste for sports “journalists”).
