University back off ultimatum; Knight to coach (lib Chancellor who provoked is under fire)

Yahoo Sports ^ | 2/3/04 | Dan Wetzel

[hispanarepublicana]

University back off ultimatum; Knight to coach

Yahoo! Sports Dan Wetzel
February 3, 2004

Bob Knight will not be suspended as head coach of Texas Tech for his public argument with chancellor David Smith. The Hall of Fame coach will take the bench Tuesday when his 19th ranked Red Raiders host Baylor at 8 pm. ET.

"He's going to coach, we just found out there is no suspension," said assistant coach Pat Knight three hours before tip-off.

Knight had been issued an ultimatum Monday night by Smith: Take a five-day suspension – causing Knight to miss games against Baylor and at Kansas – or be fired as the Red Raiders' head coach. But he had never accepted the suspension as it had been widely reported.

Instead Smith was hit with a wave of negative reaction from trustees, alums and students concerning the suspension and the ultimatum was lifted Tuesday afternoon. Knight will serve no suspension at all.

The incident occured Monday at local supermarket. Smith approached Knight at the salad bar and told him he thought he had been doing a good job this year, particularly in controlling his temper. Knight said he thought he had done a good job for the past three years and walked to the other side of the salad bar. Smith then followed him around and asked what issues the two were having.

One thing led to another and both men wound up shouting at each other. There was no physical contact and it ended fairly quickly. The two men are not close friends.

The Red Raiders, who averaged just less than 12 wins per season in the four years before Knight arrived, are 16-4 this season. While at Indiana in March 2000, Knight was investigated by the university after former player Neil Reed said the coach choked him at a practice in 1997. Two months later, Knight was fined $30,000, suspended for three games and placed under a "zero-tolerance behavior policy." In September 2000, Knight was accused of grabbing a student by the arm, cursing and lecturing him about manners after the coach was addressed, "Hey, Knight, what's up?"

That month, Knight was fired from Indiana for violating the behavior policy. Indiana president Myles Brand, now president of the NCAA, fired him for what Brand called a ``pattern of unacceptable behavior.'' This past December, Knight went into a profanity-filled tirade after an ESPN reporter asked about his relationship with former player Steve Alford, who was also participating in the interview. Knight later apologized.

Knight had brought Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to Lubbock to speak to the Law School and was entertaining him this week while preparing for the game

[hispanarepublicana]

Smith's wife is Dr. Donna Bacchi who is responsible for bringing about the anti-smoking ordinance in Lubbock restaurants. Recently, she's been trying to enact a cat leash law, and Dr. Smith himself has an ego of gargantuan proportions. He baited and provoked Knight by giving him an employee evaluation at a salad bar in public. Knight's hosting of his buddy, Clarence Thomas, especially stuck in Smith's craw.

[hispanarepublicana]

ping

[MarkeyD]

I just can't help it. I like Bobby Knight.

[hispanarepublicana]

ping

[freepatriot32]

thanks for the update i updated my thread about this also

[flying Elvis]

A cat leash law? Now that's rich.

[LS]

I'm not a Knight fan---I think he has been out of control for years---but he clearly is in the right here. Good for him on this issue.

[WestTexasWend]

Thanks for the ping
The chancellor hasn't learned what people on the High Plains knew instinctively..."Don't try to pet that old dog, 'specially when he's eatin'."
I was against the Knight hire, but (regardless of his win-loss record) he's done his job a hell of a lot better job than Smith does his! Tech got by without a chancellor for years...they should try it again. His salary would go a long way...

[Wheee The People]

When will learn? Clearly it's time to regulate salad bars.

[Kirkwood]

Knight was removed from IU primarily because he is conservative and this grated on the ultra-liberal administration and certain ultra-liberal faculty members who constantly harangued him. You would have an attitude as well if people constantly spit on you, picked fights with you, etc., etc. Everyone has a breaking point, and people were constantly pushing Bob's button to get him to explode. Many of the so-called antics he has been accuse of were done to make a point (like the chair sliding incident - it was never tossed) or were totally trumped-up and exaggerated charges (like attacking students).

[sinkspur]

Many of the so-called antics he has been accuse of were done to make a point (like the chair sliding incident - it was never tossed) or were totally trumped-up and exaggerated charges (like attacking students).

Another Knight groupie.

Coaches don't "slide chairs" across basketball courts during games in a fit of anger.

And, he did jostle students.

If he can't take the heat, after all this time, Knight is clearly not cut out for a public role.

I would have fired him for his profanity-laced tirade on ESPN. It was despicable.

[hispanarepublicana]

Frankly, I'm VERY SUSPICIOUS of this incident because the Board of Regents, who have been supportive of Knight (much to the chagrin of Smith), got three new replacement members WHOSE TERMS STARTED MONDAY MORNING.

[Kakaze]

" Many of the so-called antics he has been accuse of were done to make a point (like the chair sliding incident - it was never tossed) or were totally trumped-up and exaggerated charges (like attacking students) "

LMAO! That chair was tossed, it was not thrown at steve Reid he just happened to be in the way, but it sure as heck wasn't "slid " across the court that day.

[colorado tanker]

When my oldest was very young she decided to take the cat on a walk around the block on a leash. The cat must have fought the whole way. We had to take the cat to the vet to have all four paws cleaned and bandaged. She never did that again.

[Akira]

You're nitpicking as to whether that chair was tossed or slid? What does that have to do with anything? Was the choking of the student done to make a point? Or was that a neck massage?

[hispanarepublicana]

QUOTE OF THE DAY from the 93.7 fm radio sports talk show just now:
"Don't you just know that Smith wishes he'd just gone over to Bigham's for a turkey sandwich yesterday?"

[drjimmy]

Many of the so-called antics he has been accuse of were done to make a point (like the chair sliding incident - it was never tossed) or were totally trumped-up and exaggerated charges (like attacking students).

And Janet Jackson never bared her breast on national TV. Get real. I've seen the video of Knight tossing the chair, and grabbing his own player by the neck. Knight's profanity filled tirade on ESPN was every bit as obscene as the Super Bowl halftime show. He's just a big bully who cries when he doesn't get his way, and there's nothing conservative about either his antics or the excuses made on his behalf (Waaaaaahhhhh!!!! The liberals made him do it!!!!!).

[MarkeyD]

I know, but I just can't help it.

[White Eagle]

Wouldn't a leash made of traditional leather from cows work better than something made from cats? It would seem to be much shorter, unless you start with a really big cat.