ESPN's Bob Knight's Greatest Hits with Latest Kentucky Wildcats Slander

Ask anyone at ESPN, especially Dick Vitale, and they will tell you that Bob Knight is all class, baby.  He does things the right way, is an excellent teacher and is the standard bearer for all things good about college athletics.  What they won't mention, however, is that Bob Knight is a boorish thug who bullies and intimidates those he dislikes.  Here's a look at some of Knight's "Greatest Hits" on his worldwide hypocrisy tour.

Just a Little Fun in the Sun, Puerto Rican Style

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DALLAS - MARCH 09: DALLAS - Head Coach Bobby Knight of the Texas Tech Red Raiders yells from the sideline during the first round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship game against the Kansas State Wildcats at American Airlines Arena on

In 1979 Knight was charged, and later convicted, of assaulting a Puerto Rican police officer.  Always one to stand up and take responsibility for his actions, Knight never appeared for his trial and to this date has never served any of his sentence for his conviction.  The Puerto Rican government finally gave up on pursuing Knight in the late 1980s.

Purdue: Have a Seat

Knight gets so incensed with a call in a 1985 Big Ten game against rival Purdue that he decides to toss a chair across the court in anger.  Practicing the upstanding morals that he demands of everyone, Knight didn't harm anyone with the chair toss and would later joke about the incident on several occasions.  Years later the chair tosser, commenting on Neil Reed, stated that if IU would have taped practices back in the day, then he would have been fired years ago.

Relax, Connie Chung; It's No Big Deal

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394941 07: Connie Chung and Maury Povich look on before the New York Yankees game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Yankee Stadium September 25, 2001 in the Bronx, New York. This is the first baseball game played at Yankee stadium since the terrorist at

Knight showed more of his fine judgment in a 1988 interview with Connie Chung, when he compared poor officiating to getting raped.  Knight, as he so often does, teaches us all a lesson about perspective, decency and compassion when he says, "I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it."  Well said, Coach Knight.  Well said.  We've sat back and just enjoyed your commentary on ESPN for a couple of years now.

Bob Knight Teaches Neil Reed the Modified Heimlich

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10 Dec 1996: Indiana Hoosiers head coach Bob Knight confers with guard Neil Reed during a game against the DePaul Blue Demons at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Indiana won the game, 74-57. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel /Allsport

Former IU player Neil Reed claims that Knight once choked him in a practice.  A firestorm develops and Knight's defenders set out to destroy Reed's name and ruin his life.  Unfortunately for Knight and his fans, practice video of the incident surfaces and backs up Reed's claims.  Miraculously, Knight keeps his job as Indiana's basketball coach.

Bob Knight Supports Volunteering for the NCAA

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BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 20: Head coach Bob Knight of the Texas Tech University Red Raiders talks to the press after loosing to the St. Joseph's University Hawks in the second round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championships at the HSBC Arena on March 20, 200

Knight showed the world how to lose with class after his Indiana Hoosiers lost in the first round to Missouri in the 1995 NCAA tournament.  After NCAA volunteer Rance Pugmire had mistakenly said Knight wouldn't be attending the postgame press conference, Knight taught us all how to deal with someone that gets the facts wrong (remember this phrase for later by the way).  Here was the wisdom Knight shared with us that day according to ESPN.

"You've only got two people that are going to tell you I'm not going to be here. One is our SID [Sports Information Director], and the other is me. Who the hell told you I wasn't going to be here? I'd like to know. Do you have any idea who it was?...Who?...They were from Indiana, right?...No, they weren't from Indiana, and you didn't get it from anybody from Indiana, did you?...No, I—I'll handle this the way I want to handle it now that I'm here. You (EXPLETIVE) it up to begin with. Now just sit there or leave. I don't give (EXPLETIVE) what you do. Now back to the game."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Bob Knight Teaches Jeremy Schaap a Lesson

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NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 5: (L-R) Jim Courier, Rich Eisen and Jeremy Schaap attend the book launch for Eisen's 'Total Access' at The Stone Rose Lounge November 5, 2007 in New York. (Photo by Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Rich Eisen)

After being fired by Indiana, Bob Knight decided it was time to forget basketball for a few moments and instead teach Jeremy Schaap how to do his job as a journalist.  After a testy interview with several tense moments, Knight turned on the charm and began educating Mr. Schaap on the finer points of his craft. 

After treating Schaap like a child and lecturing him on how to ask questions, Knight then compared Schaap very unfavorable to his journalist father Dick Schaap.  While the points on Schaap might honestly have been warranted, Knight came across as the ultimate bully, threateningly imposing himself physically and verbally towards Schaap.

Indiana Fires Bob Knight and Texas Tech Had Heads in Sand

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16 November 2001: Texas Tech head coach Bobby Knight admires his team from the bench while they play against William & Mary during the Ford Red Raider Classic at the United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, TX. The Red Raiders defeat the Tribe 75-55. DIGITAL IM

After being unceremoniously fired from Indiana, Bob Knight was soon hired to be the coach at Texas Tech University.  Ever the lover of history, one would have thought that Knight might have learned from his mistakes at Indiana and changed his ways at his new job.  Then again, Bob Knight doesn't make mistakes.

While at Texas Tech Knight got into verbal altercations with other staff members, was alleged to have struck another player, attempted to get past security and go after a Baylor student for heckling him and was alleged to have fired a gun over the head of a neighbor he was in a dispute with. 

According to Knight, none of the above was either true or his fault.  According to the rest of the world, we had already seen this movie before and knew how it ended.

Hey, Kentucky Wildcats! I'm Still Relevant...ESPN Says So

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KANSAS CITY, MO - NOVEMBER 24: Bob Knight former head coach, looks on as an ESPN commentator during the CBE Classic games on November 24, 2008 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Since being hired by ESPN, Bob Knight has waged a verbal war with John Calipari decrying Coach Cal as the antithesis of everything that is good (and Bob Knight approved) with collegiate athletics.  And for the most part, the verbal barbs stayed directed at Calipari. 

However, on April 18th video surfaced of Bob Knight saying that the entire starting five of Kentucky's 2009-2010 Elite Eight team played the second semester while never going to any classes.  Kentucky's administration and former players quickly refuted those claims, which were found to be complete fabrications by Knight.  Knight offered a half-hearted apology and said he shouldn't have attacked Kentucky or their players personally, but refused to admit he had made the allegations up.  Unsurprisingly, Dick Vitale staunchly defended Knight.