Who should hire and fire coaches?

Like many students, I spent Sunday night rallying for Bob Knight. The support system given to Knight from the Bloomington community and the students showed how they disapproved of the decision. Though I disagreed with some of the actions taken by the crowd, such as taking fish from Showalter Fountain, it was nice to see a group of people come together and rally for something they believed in. \nThroughout the night the crowd participated in various chants. One such chant, which really got me thinking was, "We pay the bills. We should choose the coach." \nI began to wonder, "Does the crowd have a point?" Not whether students should choose the coach, but who should make the decisions on the hiring and firing of coaches? \nIt is apparent that IU President Myles Brand feels the main determinant should be how the public perceives a coach. This can be found in the reasons given for Knight\'s dismissal. From his decision, it is neither the quality of the coaching style nor the career record or the graduation rate of players. He based his decision solely on what made IU look good. \nTo have the University say Knight was given multiple opportunities and chose not to comply with the rules laid down, makes me sick. If someone told you to change who you are and the way you have acted for half your life, do you think you could do it? \nShould the players have the final say on who is their coach? They are the ones that are influenced and affected by the coach the most. From what I had seen on the news and read in the paper, not one player was excited to see Coach Knight fired. But hey, what do these players know? They are just students of the game. I am sure the administration knows more about what characteristics are needed in a coach.\nOr maybe we should leave it up to the journalists since they seem to know what is best for IU and the players. The media caused this whole Knight mess. They influenced the public's opinion. They forced IU to investigate Knight. \nJust look at Brand's address. He mentioned how this was not Knight's first violation of the "zero tolerance" policy. It wasn't until the media got involved that the University took action. \nAnother example is the Kent Harvey situation. Harvey mentioned that all he wanted was an apology from Knight. I really don't think going to ESPN is a way of asking for an apology, do you? \nOr, should the fans that support the teams be the ones to determine a coach's fate? It is the fans that pay to watch a winning team. They wouldn't sell out Assembly Hall game after game, if they thought the coach was bad. The fans are usually the biggest critics of a coach. From the looks of Sunday night, they wanted the coach to stay.\nWho should make the final decision, I don't know. What I do know is that Sunday will not be a day to forget. A day where people on the outside influenced the decision. A day that I am ashamed to be a Hoosier. \nI was told when I first came down here, "This isn't God's country, this is Bob's country." It is neither anymore, because even God uses justice on judgment day.