Section B·Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, September 13, 2000
Red Lyon Tavern
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Knight blames misinterpretation for firing from Indiana University
By Michael Rigg sports@kanson.com Kansas sportwriter
demise entailed.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — For the first time since his firing, former Indiana coach Bob Knight sat down for an interview with a member of the media — the same day his former assistant coach, Mike Davis, was hired to temporarily fill Knight's post.
The lengthy interview took place last night live on ESPN with Jeremy Schaap at Four Winds Resort outside of Bloomington, Ind. In the interview, Knight responded to the long list of incidents that led to his firing — and denied every one.
Knight talked adamantly about how he didn't violate the university's chain of command, how he didn't verbally abuse a female school lawyer, and how he never received a clear answer about what the zerotolerance policy that led to his
Knight said his firing was because of a simple lack of communication.
"What we're talking about here is interpretation," he said. "The communication has not been very good."
Knight did talk about regrets he has had for the past few days, such as not leaving Indiana when the zero-tolerance policy was handed down in May.
"Maybe I was dumb," he said, "in retrospect, that's the thing I should have done. But I have an obligation to these players."
Christopher Simpson, vice president for public affairs at Indiana and one of the people Knight said he did not get along with, did not refute specific aspects of Knight's interview.
1 see nothing productive at this juncture to get into a 'he said, she said,' Simpson said. "The decision was made on Sunday, and the pres-
ment or the university explained those reasons, and I think it's time to move on."
As for Knight, he's ready to move on as well.
Davis — who used to play for the now-defunct Topeka Sizzlers of the Continental Basketball Association — has not had any head coaching experience.
"I want to coach again in the worst way," Knight said. "I think I have a lot of years left to coach, and that's what I want to do."
"I didn't want to be known as the guy who walked away from Indiana University and had the players walk away with him," Davis said.
Mission accomplished — all 12 players on the Hoosier roster will return to play for Davis next season. Among the returnees is forward Dane Fife, who announced he is reneging his previous decision to transfer.
Edited by John Audlehelm
Indiana students express loyalty
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — As I stood at center court inside Assembly Hall yesterday afternoon, my stomach began to churn and my mind raced.
Sports Columnist
I gazed around the mammoth-sized fieldhouse. High above my head in the south, rafters hung the three national championship banners earned since 1972. I turned my head and eyed the sidelines.
I could almost see Bob Knight, the legendary Hoosier General, storming up and down the sidelines, cursing referees, encouraging his players, calling out the offense. In my mind I could see chairs fly across the court, courtesy of a mighty Knight heave.
Chris
Wristen
Then reality set in. I would never see him march the sidelines or deliver answers to the media that would make parents cover their children's ears ever again — at least not at Indiana.
Witnessing the fallout of this coaching legend caused me to
I honestly couldn't believe he had been fired. I understand why, but being in Bloomington, the heart of Hoosierville, the firing just didn't seem like a reality.
sports@ kansan.com
reflect on our situation in Lawrence. It's hard to believe that just two months ago we had been through this.
Fortunately, the result was different. Coach Williams stayed. Here in Indiana, Knight never had the chance. He was fired while out of town on a fishing trip in Canada.
Suddenly it became crystal clear to me why students ransacked the campus, tore down tree limbs, lit fires and protested in support of Knight.
He has always been loyal to Indiana and those students were expressing their loyalty — while in an improper manner — to Knight. Davis was doing the same by
accepting the job. His players also followed suit when they backed down on their charge to transfer.
Following his press conference, I watched Knight's interview on ESPN with some semi-somber members of the Indiana cheerleaders squad, who are also loyal supporters of Knight. As Knight spoke they looked on with interest, nodding their heads in agreement with his denials of violating the "zero tolerance policy" and chuckling as Knight argued with Jeremy Schaap about who had interrupted whom. One girl leaned over to me and laughing, said, "Same ol' Coach. He's always been like that."
I wandered across the Indiana campus yesterday evening. The night was calm and students were largely subdued. One girl, reading a book outside the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority house, sat underneath a "Thanks Coach" banner. That made me think of Lawrence, and of how our posters were able to make a difference in our coach staying. Not in Indiana though.
Wristen is a Leawood junior in journalism.
Big Benefits Coming for Kansas Long Distance Consumers
The recent decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to let Southwestern Bell compete for long-distance telephone service in Texas forecasts Texas-sized benefits for Kansas.
Here's how: Currently, Southwestern Bell can't offer long-distance for calls outside of your area code until we can prove to regulators that our local telephone markets are open to competitors. Here in Kansas, they are. In fact, we currently have competitors in more than 95% of the local exchanges we serve.
Debbie Vignatelli
Right now, the Kansas Corporation Commission is considering our application and we are working to gain their endorsement by the end of the month. Our chances are improving all the time: August 21, the staff of the Kansas Corporation Commission recommended approval. The FCC has the final word, so once the KCC takes action in late September, we'll take our application to Washington.
With the FCC's permission, the big benefits will begin. When we're allowed to enter into Kansas' long-distance market, Kansans will see simple, no-gimmicks long-distance service.
It's already happening down in Texas. For instance, Southwestern Bell Texas is now offering basic residential long-distance service for 9 cents a minute with no monthly fee. The No-Nonsense Flat Rate plan is one rate for all calls, anytime, in-state or out-of-state, with no monthly fee.
Southwestern Bell Kansas plans to have similar, easy-to-understand long-distance plans — as well as one-stop shopping for all communications and entertainment services — available to our customers.
Here's the bottom line for us: Southwestern Bell Kansas has been providing Kansans with dependable, affordable local telephone service for more than 115 years. We're ready to do the same for long-distance by giving our customers one-stop shopping, competitive rates and top-quality service.
Today, Texans are enjoying more choices and better value - and so will Kansans once Southwestern Bell Kansas is allowed to compete for long-distance.
Debbie Vignatelli Director External Affairs
Take Control & Take Action
www.connectkansas.org
Southwestern Bell
friendly. neighborhood. global."
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