Bob Knight penalized (suspended)for spat with chancellor

Texas Tech coach Bob Knight has been suspended for five days, a result of his verbal confrontation with university chancellor David Smith on Monday at a grocery store in Lubbock, ESPN's Dick Vitale reports.

Pat Knight will replace his father as coach of the Red Raiders for their home game Tuesday night against Baylor, ESPN.com's Andy Katz reports. Pat Knight, aware of the five-day action, also assumes he will coach the team Saturday when the Red Raiders visit Kansas in Lawrence.

However, neither Pat Knight or the rest of the Texas Tech coaching staff had been told definitely that Bob Knight will not coach against Kansas, Katz reports.

Texas Tech officials said, however, that no decision had been made on disciplinary measures, but the school was expected to release a statement later Tuesday, Tech spokeswoman Sally Logue Post said.

Bob Knight is expected to discuss his suspension in a news conference later Tuesday.

"Right now, the athletic director and the president's office at the university are looking into the incident," Smith told the AP. "We'll wait to hear more in the next few days about their review."

Asked whether there was any discussion of removing Knight, Smith said: "I can't comment on any of those things right now."

Pat Knight, the rest of the coaching staff and the players had not heard from Bob Knight on Tuesday, as he was meeting with his lawyer, Katz reports.

Pat Knight said that his father was very upset over the incident and that his knee-jerk, heat-of-the-moment reaction was to quit. But Pat told him "you've gotta stay the rest of the season" and then decide.

After calming down, that is ultimately what Bob Knight decided to do, Katz reports.

Pat Knight also said that the players were not shocked by any of the news and were conducting business as usual, which included their afternoon shootaround.

One eyewitness told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that Knight raised his voice to Smith after the chancellor approached him at a salad bar to compliment the coach on his recent good behavior.

Pat Knight said his father and Smith have had a strained relationship, divided mostly by "petty" issues, but that ultimately the chancellor felt slighted, Katz reported.

The witness told the paper that Knight flew into a rage and accused Smith of being a liar, saying that there had been nothing wrong with his demeanor this year.

Smith turned to leave the area, the Avalanche-Journal reported, but Knight followed. The chancellor then told Knight that he deserved more respect than Knight was showing him, according to the Avalanche-Journal.

The newspaper reports that no physical contact took place before Knight left the establishment after the confrontation, got in his car and pulled into traffic. According to the Avalanche-Journal, Knight stopped his car then and briefly got out before getting back in and driving away.

Texas Tech is 4-2 in the Big 12 this season. The Red Raiders had been unbeaten in the league until last week, when they lost to Texas and Oklahoma State.

Information from The Associated Press and the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal was used in this report.

Once again "coach" is just misunderstood and its the administrations fault. I grew up watching a state fall all over itself to deny the fact, that the man is an embarrassment. Good luck Texas Tech.

I disagree. If what supposedly transpired is true, the chancellor is the petty man for walking up to Knight at a salad bar and sarcastically saying he was well-behaved. It appears to me he was trying to provoke Knight, who wouldn't take a sarcastic jibe like that lightly and the chancellor knew it. More often then not, it is the University administrators (in this case the Chancellor) who are small, petty, people. Knight doesn't like them and doesn't really need to like them as long as he has the respect of his players...which he does in 99.9% of his past student-athletes. He's old school and there's nothing wrong with that.

If you want to give Knight the benefit of the doubt , go right ahead. I know from experience, 25 plus years living just up the road from Bloomington, In.. The man is a time bomb waiting to go off, and like I said this "incident" could have been lifeted right out of the bloomington papers.

As long as he's winning it will be tolerated and excused by pressure from the alumni. Thats what happened today, it's like looking in a time machine.

The chancellor then told Knight that he deserved more respect than Knight was showing him, according to the Avalanche-Journal.

What about the chancellor....show me respect....I run a school...

They can have each other!

"Bobby Knight is an immature jackass who is lucky that he hasn't suffered another coronary."

You're getting your "jackasses" confused,Knight has never had a coronary.

Knight took on the PC brethren at Indiana, and for that he deserved some props from conservatives, and generally, from what I've read, he seems to support our issues, but he's got emotional problems that he's never dealt with, quite obviously, and that makes it very difficult to root for the guy over the long haul because these silly embarrassments keep happening wherever he goes.

He suspended the coach because he felt slighted? How old is this guy? 5?

Who's the five-year-old here? The chancellor was *complimenting* Knight when Bobby threw a hissy. Believe it or not, most people don't get away with treating their bosses like the scum of the earth.

"What about the chancellor....show me respect....I run a school...
They can have each other!"

This was said AFTER Knight began his aggressive tirade. I defend neither of the actors in this. The Chancellor hired Knight, he knew what a loose cannon he is.

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