Famously hot-tempered Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight finally fouled out yesterday – getting booted by the school for grabbing a student by the arm.
Calling the coach “defiant and hostile,” university President Myles Brand said he gave Knight the hook after three decades at the school because of a “pattern of unacceptable behavior.”
Riot police stood by as thousands of angry fans and students marched past Brand’s home in protest.
“Hey, hey, ho, ho! Myles Brand has got to go!” they chanted.
Fans also burned an effigy of Kent Harvey, a freshman whose run-in with Knight led to his firing.
Knight was warned last May to clean up his act, when Brand instituted a “zero tolerance” policy stipulating no “inappropriate physical contact with students.”
Knight, 59, won three national titles at Indiana, gaining a reputation as one of the game’s best coaches.
But Brand said Knight’s famously volatile behavior had worsened. “He did not fulfill the promises he gave me,” Brand said.
Knight, who took over the Hoosiers in 1971, has been known to verbally and physically abuse players and throw chairs across the court. He was once accused of stuffing a fan into a garbage can, and even kicked his own son on the bench.
Last spring, he was accused of choking one of his players during practice in 1997, an act caught on videotape.
That led the university to warn Knight to clean up his act. He was also suspended for three games and fined $30,000.
But last Thursday, Knight had a run-in with Harvey, 19, who passed the coach on campus and said, “Hey, what’s up, Knight?”
Harvey charged that Knight grabbed him on the arm and cursed him.
Knight said he didn’t curse Harvey, but admitted he briefly held his arm and told the teen to show him more respect by addressing him as “Coach Knight” or “Mr. Knight.”
Harvey is the stepson of Mark Shaw, a former local radio talk-show host who has sharply criticized Knight.
Shaw said Harvey and his two brothers, who also attend the Bloomington, Ind., college, have received numerous threats by phone and e-mail.
Among the threats were fliers circulated around campus featuring Kent’s photo and the words: “Wanted: Dead.”
Shaw said his stepson had wanted an apology from Knight, but didn’t want him to lose his job. University officials have assured the family the boys will be safe at the school, he said.
Knight was in Canada yesterday on a fishing trip. University officials say he will be paid for the final two years of his contract.
Besides his three NCAA championships, Knight led the Hoosiers to 11 Big Ten titles, and coached the U.S. men’s basketball team to the gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Dan Fife was among the Indiana basketball players saddened and hurt by the news.
“But this team’s a family,” Fife said. “We still have two or three excellent coaches who will be part of this team.”
But another player said he and his teammates might transfer to other schools.
“We realize that IU is a great university, but we came here to play for coach Knight,” said junior Tom Geyer. “Right now, you just have to consider what all your options are.”