Bob Knight- NBA Has 'Raped' College Basketball (VIDEO)
Former Indiana Coach Sparks Controversy Over Language and Perspective
Bob Knight said the NBA has "raped" NCAA basketball with their allowance of the "one and done" rule, which lets college basketball players leave after one year for the NBA. Knight, who was formerly the winningest coach in NCAA history, is the focus of controversy and outrage over his use of the word Tuesday.
Bob Knight's NBA comments came while he was being interviewed on ESPN's "Mike and Mike." The hosts of the radio program asked him about freshman stars like Andrew Wiggins of Kansas and Jabari Parker of Duke leaving their NCAA teams after just one season, and Knight's response was anything but politically correct.
"If I were involved with the NBA I wouldn't want a 19-year-old or a 20-year-old kid, to bring into all the travel and all the problems that exist in the NBA. I would want a much more mature kid. … I might trade for that kid," the 73-year-old ESPN analyst said. "On top of it all, the NBA does a tremendous, gigantic disservice to college basketball. It's as though they've raped college basketball in my opinion."
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Knight has a history of using offensive language— in a 1988 interview with Connie Chung he said "if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it," then later walked back his comments— but others are focusing on how his perspective affects the NCAA. Knight believes that superstar players should stay in college longer, like in baseball, but critics say his view is warped by the NCAA's deep pockets.
Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo! Sports pointed out that college players essentially work for little to nothing— athletes can only be rewarded for their gargantuan efforts with tuition, room and board. In addition, the largely NCAA benefits from having stars on teams year after year, because they promote the $681 million broadcast deal with Turner, which funds much of the organization's revenue and justifies head coaches' multi-million-dollar salaries.
Chris Korman of USA Today Sports added that NBA general managers aren't wholly concerned with "mature" players, they're concerned with raw talent.
"Either we give top players another route to the NBA or we accept that their trips to the NCAA tournament aren't about school pride or fighting for their teammates or hoisting some trophy," Korman wrote.
Bob Knight was head coach at Indiana from 1971 to 2000 and is third in terms of wins only behind Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and Jim Boeheim of Syracuse. He coached at Texas Tech from 2001 to 2008, then retired and became an ESPN analyst.
ESPN has since commented on the controversy, saying they spoke to Knight and "[regret] the use of the word."
