Say Anything Blog

This time, for this:

As the Red Raiders were walking toward the bench for a time out, Knight stopped sophomore Michael Prince after a couple of bad plays by the Tech forward.

Prince’s head was down and while Knight was talking, the head coach pushed Prince’s chin up and said, “Look at me.”

Prince says it was no big deal. His mother says it’s no big deal.

But like the father of one of Bob Knight’s closest friends in the sports world, Bill Parcells, was wont to say, “It may not be your fault, Knight. But you’re always there.”

And I don’t buy the lousy defense that Fran Fraschilla threw up yesterday.

“I feel if this was anybody else—and I said this on the air—than it wouldn’t be a big deal,” Fraschilla said. “I don’t think it’s fair to Coach Knight for all the attention that it’s getting.”

Well, Fran. There’s really no way to know that because no other coach has ever done the things Knight has done. You know, like kick and choke players, throw chairs across the court, and pound his fist on the scorer’s table.

I can wager, though, that if another coach in any sport grabbed one of his players’ by the chin while lecturing them, they’d be simlarily admonished in the court of public opinion. And rightfully so.

Cross posted from Grapevine’s Sports Ramblings