Letters to the Editor
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Relax, Roger
Or should I say "Bobby"? Really, you sound ridiculous ranting about allergies and calling people "pussy" who disagree with you. Knight is a jerk. He attacked the media all the time, and deserves to take some parting shots from them. Once upon a time, I used to support him, but his abuse just kept getting worse. I attended IU and the US Air Force Academy, and have a pretty good handle on the culture of IU and military discipline. Kicking players, choking them, etc. is WEAK. Abusing people who can't stand up to you or fight back is the weakest, most "pussy" behavior there is. Next down the list are the weakling/pussies who suck off of that behavior and commend it.
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I guess from looking at these letters
It's obvious, for some, why a dominatrix might be attractive.
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On accolades re: "graduation rates"...
To paraphrase the great Chris Rock,
Don't slap yourself on the back for doing what you're SUPPOSED to do! Christ.
Ah, the great Coach Knight -- a Grand American and Great American Collegiate Sportsman in the modern tradition. No, he was not at all a big pussy, even if he just *always* happened to never picked a fair fight. No, he was not at all an example of a grown petulant child abusing positions of authority. Just a real misunderstood John Wayne character, He. (I'll just go ahead and let any further metaphors ride.)
And how about that omnipresent race angle? A constant race-baiter among his players and a complete misogynist as regarded any advancement of women's sports. Anyone ever wonder why perennial men's hoops powerhouse programs developed solid women's programs, but Indiana's has pretty much always remain mired in the muck? (Unless you count his existence of a wife as proof otherwise.) Accolades otherwise pretty much reduce to the same tired trope: Sure was a hell of a coach, you know, what his tourney success over the past 20 years, OK, maybe not, but then it's just too bad he couldn't reach these modern, ahem, black athletes, who, you know, just don't value his unique brand of "throwback" discipline. Obviously, Indiana was just an impossible place to coach. Especially if you ignore Mike Davis' own final four run. Now there was a guy who deserved to be shown the door.
If Knight was the best that college sports had to offer, what does this say about the cesspool we all seem to too-blindly support?
BTW - to answer King on the question of his current team: I'm pretty sure he didn't mention his players once in his sycophantic interview with Jay Bilas.
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Hitting Players
My piano teacher used to smack me with a ruler if I let my wrists drop. I thought that was pretty shitty at the time and I ultimately quit the piano for the clarinet. However, when I do play now, I keep my friggin wrists up. It helps me with my typing as well. She wasn't mad when she did it though, or out of control, or having a bad day. It was a teaching tool, not an expression of rage. Just like my volleyball coach who made me do windsprints everytime I stepped over the line when I was serving. It sure beat the bad habit out of me.
But, what Knight did to his players was more like your abusive stepfather who had a bad day at work brand of punishment. Choking a player? You gotta be kidding me. My parents would have blown a gasket if my volleyball coach had hit me. How in the hell is that going to make them a better player? I'm all for a little public humiliation and painful punishments for mistakes, but if your the coach and you lose your shit like that in practice, how can you expect your players to be any better than you during the games. And for those of your defending him, wow. Thank god I'm not your kid.
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you just made my case for me, thank you
Grabbing someone by the face is now abuse. Yelling is now abuse. Next up, running suicides is akin to sending them to Gitmo. Good luck with that.
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My Fav Knight Press Conference Moment
Was his response to the question about his team having their "game face" on after a win. All the mock facial expressions.
A team will take about 50 shots in a game. If 30 go in it was a game face. If 17 go in they were they ready to play?
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Roger Apocalypse
Your boss is not trying to turn you into something.
Ha! Funniest line of the day.
Leaders don't have to be loved. They have to be respected, feared a little and followed. That's how people learn leadership.
You learn that from Papa Smurf? "Leadership is about three things: Smurferation, Smurferation, Smurf." - Scrubs
"Feared a little" is highly overrated, especially for a coach. Inspiring is far better. It produces better results. If you have to resort to fear, you're doing it wrong.
Pity is a disgusting emotion, which makes you a disgusting and worthless human.
Fine, perhaps I chose the wrong term. How about "I find you pathetic".
So what, the world is full of hypocrisy. This is what it looks like and you should be familiar with how to deal with it!
Yeah, that's a much better response than "That is rotten, isn't it. Best thing to do is make sure you aren't one yourself."
And you seem to mistake "graduating" with "getting an education". What are the stats for other coaches graduation rates? What'd Knight's players go on to do after college? Did they just get a piece of paper 'cause it made the college look good? Getting out with straight Cs in basket weaving gets you a diploma, but it isn't going to prepare you for a job.
I suppose when they're asked, they can pretend they built houses for Habitat for Humanity and so forth.
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Abuse
Grabbing someone by the face is now abuse.
Wait, I stand corrected, this is the funniest line of the day.
Wes, you're slipping. This guy is taking the comedy award right out from under you.
I'm looking forward to Roger's next statements:
Beating someone with a whip is now abuse!
Kneecapping someone with a drill is now abuse!
Oh, let the hilarity continue.