Full Court Press

Whats the difference between what knight did and a football coach getting on a players ass and grabbing him by his face mask and jerking him around? Football is a physical sport so its accepted when the players get slapped around.Coaches are like father figures and when a kid does what that kid did how many fathers pop their kids in the chin just like that.If that was my son i wouldn't of been mad at knight just like that kids parents weren't.

Maybe the media and specifically ESPN should just stay away from Coach Knight. His every move is scrutinized and over analyzed by the media. I have seen many other coaches in high school and college that have gotten a little physical with a player during a game, and much more so that a nudge to the chin, but they weren't Coach Knight so it wasn't a story. The media should concentrate on the real story - the players on the court.

I am appalled Michael Prince's parents and others have downplayed Bob Knight's latest incident. He has a track record miles long and yet he is still allowed to coach. What needs to happen before this man is stopped. It is a crime that his behavior is repeatedly overlooked especially by his latest victims parents. This poor excuse of a man needs anger management is the worse way before he really seriously hurts someone.

I'm not a bobby knight fan, never have been. He's a very good, ok, even great basketball coach. Also he's probably an egotistical jerk. But I'm beginning to appreciate him more and more just as an anachronism in an increasingly politically correct world. And there is nothing wrong with that in my view.

A few years back, a good friend of mine was banned from coaching his son's Little League team for bumping and threatening a 15-year old umpire. His defense was "I pattern myself after Bobby Knight and I'm not gonna change." Unfortunately Bob Knight's behavior and the defense of that behavior gives cover to some coaches and parents who already have anger management problems.... I also have a couple of friends who once sat next to Bob Knight during a Cubs game and said you could not meet a more sincere and engaging person. The guy is a paradox.

There's nothing wrong with sticking a foot in an athletes ass to get him going!

Bob Knight has an "ugly" side to him..truly flawed. BUT he has generated millions of dollars for libraries on the Indiana and Texas Tech campuses. His kids go to class and graduate and he has NEVER cheated. He helps his players get jobs when their playing days are over and any kid that stuck with him for 4 years, claims it made them a better man and prepared them for life. Isn't that what colleges are supposed to do? Too bad we live in such a PC society where our coddled children are spoiled rotten and many lack any kind of discipline. I would send my son to play for coach Knight without hesitation. It's only the media and the "haters" that only look at Knight's flaws...Are you "haters" perfect?

I agree with so many of the other bloggers... Bobby Knight is my heroe! Say what you want about his behavior, the bottom line is that he is developing men of character. I had an opportunity to attend 2 of his camps when I was in h.s. and he not only made me a better player, I believe I became a better person because of him. If he came to my door recruiting my son, I would tell my son, "Go get in the car, I'll send your clothes later."

I fully understand all of Bob Knights' supporters standing behind him and I too hate this age of PC, but can't a an intelligent man like Coach Knight get his point across without touching his players in any manner. Why do we accept this kind of behavior on the playing fields when we certainly wouldn't accept it from our teachers.

It's sad that anyone would consider Knight their "Heroe" (whatever that word means). No doubt he has a great mind for the game. It's also laudable that he graduates a higher percentage of his players than other "great" coaches (i.e. Crumm and Huggins), but then he also usually recruited kids that were of better character than most. What's disturbing is that people blindly buy into the "its o.k. to put a foot in the kid's ass" approach, which sadly is the same approach he took to some of his fellow employees at IU throughout his career and carried over to his time at Texas Tech. I find it difficult to admire a guy who acts like a hard-ass and insists his players respect authority, when he himself never respected those in authority over him. The fact that he intimidated and verbally abused empoloyees of IU during his stay there was very telling about his character. If Knight came to my door to recruit my son, I'd call the police.

In another note, Reader Sal asserts that a football coach's grabbing of a player's facemask is analogous to Knight's actions. There's a difference, however, between grabbing a kid's facemask (i.e. an inanimate piece of protective gear) and grabbing their throat (i.e. unprotected flesh) as he did at IU, or slapping them in the head so they'll look at him, as he did here. If anyone can't see a difference between the two, they are blind.

Bob knight is a whack job end of story. That kids parents are just as whacked as him. This guy has a history of being unstable but, nothing is ever done. Some body needs to "touch" him on his chin and I am sure he will pick on the wrong person and he will get his clock cleaned.

Knight won't change ... NOR SHOULD HE!

Are people so fragile, that a little physical contact causes them to break? I think breaking through that notion is more of what needs to happen, and not worrying about a coach trying to reach a player during a game.

Lets see, the player didn't have a problem with it, the parents didn't have a problem with it, the only one's having a problem with it are some sportswriters and ESPN.

GIVE IT A REST GUYS...

When I was growing up it was Okay for the neighbor to tattle us when our parents weren't around.For one it kept us from acting up when we were out in public.Nowadays you can't even tattle your own kids in public because it's a crime.What worked back then won't translate in this society.Nowadays you tell a parent what their kid did and they might ask you to kiss something or try to kick something.It's a different world we live in.Sometimes those timeouts don't do the job.I don't know if Bobby was wrong.I don't know if he was right, either.It depends on your perception.

In the modern age of political correctness, a throw-back like Bobby Knight is always going to be a target. He's loud, abrasive, vulgar, and his belly-howling anger on the sidelines can be intimidating when he's not touching anyone.

In modern society, most of athletics is a way for young people, who 500 years ago would have been the outstanding centerpieces of a warrior class, to have a productive place in society. Bobby Knight understands this and coaches like it. Training, studying, and playing hard for 8-14 hous a day isn't for everyone. Neither is Bobby Knight's style. His record for success on the court and his students' rate of graduation speak more than the thrown chair and red-faced lapses of composure.

LEAVE BOB KNIGHT ALONE, HE MAY HAVE MADE A MISTAKE BUT I DONT THINK THAT WAS A MISTAKE ATA LL BECAUSE THE PLAYER WASNT LOOKING AT HIM AT ALL AND,BOB WANTS ATTENTION FROM HIS PLAYERS. HE HAD TO TELL THEM WHAT THEY AHD TO DO TO PLAY FOR HIM, HE DIDNT GO OUT AND RECRUIT PLAYERS WHO DONT INGORE HIM, HE WENT AFTER PLAYERS WHO ARE WILLING TO LEARN AND PLAY HARD FOR HIM. AND WHAT HE DID TO THAT PLAYER WASNT NOTHING LIKE A SPANKING, EVEN HIS MOM APPROVED OF IT. LEAVE BOBBY ALONE!