I am a resident of Bloomington Indiana and a former student of Indiana University. As such, I’m disappointed by everyone involved in all of these alleged incidents surrounding Coach Knight.

I’m ashamed that a coach with the experience and track record of Coach Knight can’t own up to his bad temper and seek counseling or help when it is clear to even the most ardent Knight supporter that he has an anger management problem. It saddens me to see him tarnish his legacy at IU with these continued outbursts.

I’m ashamed of the Knight critics who use his every word and gesture as an excuse to pony up to the media and see themselves on television. They don’t really care about the students. They care about hearing themselves speak.

I’m ashamed of the Knight supporters who threaten students with bodily harm simply for questioning the coach’s behavior. Support Knight by talking about his record, or his graduation rates, or the positive things former players say. Threatening students for speaking out is unconscionable.

I’m ashamed of Indiana University President Miles Brand and the trustees of Indiana University. If Knight should have been removed, it most certainly should have been over the alleged choking of a student and a player, not over a lecture on respect and manners. If Knights actions and behavior have cast a dark shadow over our peaceful town and school, Brand and the trustees have done nothing effective to handle these situations.

In the press conference announcing Coach Knight’s removal, President Brand cited a number of incidents that he said showed a pattern of behavior inconsistent with the “zero tolerance” policy. I would expect the President of a major university to understand the definition of “zero tolerance”. “Zero” tolerance would imply that any indiscretion by Coach Knight should have lead to his removal. If the policy were truly “zero” tolerance, by Brand’s own admissions today, he should have never progressed this far.

Truth be told, I will miss Knight; but I am glad he’s gone. I’ll miss him as a coach, and what he has done for the basketball program and young men he’s coached over the years at IU. He’s brought Indiana some great championship moments, and he’s helped many students graduate and get proper educations, which is something that can’t be said for many college coaches.

But I’m glad that finally, people will be able to talk about Indiana University and Hoosier Basketball without making it a cult of personality about Coach Knight. And I’m glad that I won’t continually have to apologize to family and friends for his behavior when they ask me about life in Bloomington.

I would have hoped that Coach Knight would have left a legacy of great Hoosier basketball, not one of scandal. And I would have hoped that Miles Brand would have acted as the leader the position of university president demands, not by cowering, backpedaling and only now owning up to his duties.

If the only way to repair the tarnished IU basketball program is by dismissing Knight, I also think that President Miles Brand should resign as well. He’s demonstrated that he never really had the best interests of the students in mind, or he would have enforced the “zero” tolerance policy when any of the incidents on his press conference list occurred, not just when an incident went public. What Brand demonstrated today was that the university didn’t really have a zero tolerance policy about Coach Knight: the university really had a zero tolerance policy for public scandal. If Knight’s actions are inconsistent with the professionalism we expect from our coaches and leaders, then Brand’s actions are inconsistent with the leadership expected of a university president.

I can only hope that in time, Indiana University can put all of this behind us, and be remembered for what it is: a world class University with several outstanding academic schools and a school with a great basketball legacy.
Most of all, I hope that sports fans and citizens around the country understand that Hoosiers love basketball, and that we are not all foul-mouthed grandstanders or duplicitous administrators concerned only about public relations. Not every supporter of Bobby Knight is so blinded by rage that they would threaten the lives of students who might actually have legitimate complaints about the Coach and his conduct. And not every critic of Knight and his actions is a media hound only seeking to further their own agenda of hate against a man who has been a great coach. Most of the Hoosiers I’ve met are decent, hard working, good people. Please don’t let the actions of all of these sordid characters influence the way you view our state, our universities, or Hoosiers.