Bobby Knight went down as one of many biggest coaches in faculty basketball historical past, however he was additionally a relatively controversial determine. There was one too many situations the place Knight misplaced his mood, and former NBA star Ralph Sampson recounted arguably probably the most notorious one of many lot on the All The Smoke podcast.
“Me and Isiah [Thomas] were the first two high school athletes to make the Pan American Olympic team,” Sampson mentioned. “So you return and take a look at Bobby Knight was the coach and [Mike] Krzyzewski was the assistant coach. We had been in Puerto Rico… we had been going to observe, and we had a time like one o’clock to be on the court docket. And the [Brazilian] women’ group was like 10 minutes over.
“So Bobby goes down and talks to the police officer and say, ‘They got to get off the court,’” Sampson continued. “He’s screaming, hollering. He’s moving his thing, whatever. And he does like this, smacks the cop… So we got to come out of the Olympic Village and go get sequestered in a hotel.”
This incident Sampson is referring to occurred through the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico. To lose your mood to this extent over one thing as trivial as one other group occupying a observe court docket for 10 further minutes is ridiculous.
Knight was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly punching Jose Silva, the San Juan police officer. The then-Indiana Hoosiers head coach would go away the island earlier than his trial was held, although, and refused to return. Indiana officers additionally rejected extradition requests from Puerto Rico.
Knight can be tried in absentia and was discovered responsible. He was sentenced to 6 months in jail and was given a $500 advantageous. Knight would have been unaffected by any of this, however his palms might need began getting a bit sweaty in 1987. That was the yr the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a legislation that gave state governors the facility to reject extradition requests.
Fortunately for Knight, German Rieckehoff, then-president of the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee, urged officers to not pursue motion in opposition to Knight. The 1987 Pan American Games had been to be held in Indianapolis, and Rieckehoff didn’t need the Puerto Rican athletes to be subjected to adversarial fan response.
That would have been music to Knight’s ears, and he sent a letter to Rieckehoff wherein he apologized for the incident.
“I feel very sorry for all the bad understandings that resulted from that incident and deeply appreciate those people like you who, whether they agree with me or not, are willing to bring this chapter to a close,” Knight wrote, by way of UPI.
So, Knight received off scot-free. While the officers on the high had gotten over this incident, Silva continued to carry a grudge. He definitely wasn’t shedding any tears when Indiana fired Knight in 2000 after 29 seasons on the helm for violating a zero-tolerance coverage relating to his habits. Silva advised the New York Post on the time that the coach had used a racial slur as he was being hauled to jail for hitting him.
“Get your dirty hands off me, n****r,” Silva recounted Knight saying.
Knight was solely behind bars for about 10 minutes, although. Silva mentioned he was later pressured to drop the fees because the incident would have an effect on relations between Puerto Rico and the United States, however he went forward regardless.
Knight not going through any penalties would have stung Silva, however his firing introduced him pleasure. He wouldn’t be with out a job for too lengthy, although, as he turned head coach for the Texas Tech Red Raiders in 2001. He would revive this system and finally retire in 2008.
In 42 seasons as a head coach in faculty, Knight received three nationwide titles and compiled a 902-371 document. He had success on the worldwide stage too, profitable the gold medal on the 1979 Pan American Games and the 1984 Olympics.
