A different kind of legacy

Alright. I'll be the one. I'll be the moron who tells the truth. Bobby Knight is not a general. He is a criminal. Anyone who wraps their fingers around someone else's throat deserves that label.\nFor 29 years, Mr. Knight was treated like a god. He could, with little consequence, throw chairs, berate people and tell women that, if it had to happen, they could at least enjoy being raped. I'm sure Myles Brand isn't the first IU president to cringe at Knight's endless abuses and absurdities. Thank God he will be the last.\nI wish I could have been proud of our University this week. Finally, we have brushed off this man whose behavior has been in an abhorrent tailspin ever since I can remember hearing the word "Hoosier." I was relieved when President Brand did not cave in to the mania of Knight's supporters and adhered to his promise of "zero tolerance" (although it looks like there were a few other incidents since last spring).\nFiring Knight seems to me the perfect way to begin the new millennium. His obnoxious approach to the game and to his life (like the approach of University of Kentucky's famed Adolf Rupp and other dead generals) was as tarnished as trophies in a neglected case. After 13 years without an NCAA title, perhaps new leadership can invigorate IU basketball without putting anyone's life in jeopardy.\nBut no. So many of Knight's supporters could not suffer this blow with dignity, and the result has been national media coverage that makes everyone at this University look like a crazed Midwestern basketball zealot.\nRioting to the defense of a criminal coach? Destroying treasured public art because a burnt-out basketball brute couldn't keep his hands off an annoying kid? Throwing the reputation of this University into the gutter, and then jumping up and down on it for good measure, just because our most famous hothead gets to spend more time fishing in Canada?\nGive me a break!\nSending death threats to someone who just didn't keep his mouth shut?\nI know it's hard to lose a legend.\nI know it's tough to accept change.\nI know that a bunch of people think Bobby Knight was, is and always will be Indiana University.\nBut you've got to get over it.\nThose of us who loved IU for its beauty, its tradition of academic freedom and the spirit of excellence you can find if you try … We had a hard time coping with the loss of Herman B Wells, the man who built IU, and whose spirit of leadership and love of learning still fuel the best parts of this University. We mourned his loss, but we rededicated ourselves to doing things with his spirit of confidence and enthusiasm.\nThat's the kind of legacy I think we should celebrate.\nThe violence that erupted after Knight's dismissal probably reflects his legacy of assault and anger ' a legacy that deserves condemnation, not commemoration.\nThere will be another coach. In fact, there will be many more … and perhaps one of them will be great.\nFor now, let's get on with our lives. Being at IU is so much more than basketball and a man who thought he could get away with anything. It's about exploring the world and ourselves. It's about sharing in a tradition that is bigger than a ball game.\nI have a friend from Ireland who works here at the University. Whenever she sees violence on the evening news, she turns to me and says, "Duncan! How do these people have time to do this nonsense? I don't have that kind of time. I go to museums. I read books. I volunteer at the homeless shelter. I have more important things to do."\nIn this precious time of our lives, we all have things to do that are more important than Bobby Knight's infantile behavior.\nRead a book. Fall in love. Figure out how you're going to change the world.\nIf you're spending any time at all concerned with this man (who's had thousands of people eating out of his hand for almost 30 years), do one thing for me.\nMove on.