NCAA: Clash Of IU Gutless And Clueless Ends

As reports filtered through the media Sunday evening that Indiana Basketball Coach Bobby Knight had been relieved of his duties, the nation finally breathed a little easier knowing that this sad saga of a gutless university and a solitary clueless man had come to predetermined and predictable end.

This action most probably, mercifully should have taken place back in May when Indiana University Regents laid down the law to Knight, in a feeble attempt to reign in decades of abuse and ridicule fired by a loose canon run amuck. Placing him under a “no tolerance” law back then just postponed the inevitable.

Many who knew Bobby Knight thought he could not live very long under the auspices of a watchful eye such as this. Many felt he would not make it to the upcoming season. Those that knew him were right.

Since May 15th Knight had left a long trail of disrespect and defiance meant to mar the institution that gave him one last chance. According to university president Myles Brand coach Knight had exhibited “unwillingness…to work within the normal chain of command”… made “angry and inflammatory remarks about university officials”…refused to participate in Varsity Club booster events…"verbally abused" a high-ranking female university official in front of witnesses…and had exhibited a general lack of cooperation with the sanctions handed down on May 15. Does this sound like a man that understood what was expected of him? Does it sound like this man cared?

Now reports are filtering from the University that IU regents met at halftime of a recent IU football clash and made the decision that it was time for Knight to go. They were fed up with the antics he had pulled since the “no tolerance” decree had been handed down. They didn’t have the guts to do what they knew had to be done. They were just looking for an excuse to lower the boom.

Fortune smiled on them last Thursday as an IU freshman drew the ire of Knight with a disrespectful comment, causing coach clueless to grab the 19-year old and verbally dress him down for his lack of courtesy towards someone as great as himself. This had to be the dumbest thing Bobby Knight has ever done in his entire illustrious career.

Knowing the spotlight was on him; understanding a 10-ton “no tolerance” weight hung precariously over his head, Knight grabbed the kid and let him have it, just as he had done to so many other victims over the years at IU. What was he doing touching anybody? Didn’t he understand that this most certainly was going to be construed as “uncivil, defiant and unacceptable” behavior? I don’t think he did. I don’t think he ever will.

He just didn’t get it. So Bobby Knight is now without the job he thought he could never lose. He was clueless enough to think that no man, no mere university could take his throne away from him. He was wrong and I hear that he cried when he finally got it.

The gutless University of Indiana regents now have the unenviable task of letting go and replacing one of the great coaches in college basketball. They must keep one disrespectful 19-year old Hoosier freshman from being strung up by a restless populace of Knight followers. And they have to figure out a way to keep the entire varsity basketball team from abandoning ship along with the talented Indiana assistant coaches that are sure to land somewhere else if IU doesn’t want them.

It will be interesting to see how everything turns out, as we watch the final act of “Sleepless in Indiana” and we come to accept the fact that the clash of the gutless and the clueless has mercifully come to an end.