Posted by
Ed Lilly on Monday, January 07, 2008 1:42:35 PM
Sports Illustrated has a page on its website called Extra Mustard, for even lighter fare than the nuts and bolts of game reports. There was a blurb in today's entries with a picture of Texas Tech men's basketball coach Bob Knight with the following caption:Bobby Knight topped himself yesterday. He brought his grandson into his postgame press conference and then unleashed the BS curse right in front of the tyke.
Wearily, I clicked through the provided link to the YouTube video to see the latest "outrage" for myself. Having been raised watching Indiana University basketball during Knight's heyday in the 70s, and then enjoying watching his Hoosier teams play during the 80s and early 90s, I've also been through the countless episodes of shameless behavior, both basketball related and otherwise.
But after watching the YouTube clip, I found myself wondering how the caption from Sports Illustrated could have been written. Maybe I missed it during the approximately 4 minute segment, but if Knight uttered a BS during the press conference, it was done with no real emphasis and certainly was not part of any angry tirade directed at the media.
I know Knight is not perfect. But it's this kind of sensationalized reporting from the media that has always put me much more firmly on Knight's side than the media's when it comes to any story of Knight's excesses. What I got out of the video was that Knight did in fact have his grandson with him, and the grandson, despite being very young (I would guess maybe 2) was very well behaved during the segments shown. Did Knight swear during the press conference? Maybe, but again, if he did, I missed it, and it certainly wouldn't have been the worst thing in his grandson's life if it was said in passing in response to a question during the press conference.
Good luck on number 900 and beyond, Coach. I wish things in Bloomington had not turned out the way they did and that you were able to continue your success with the Hoosiers.