Knight doesn't need lawsuit

Last month, former IU basketball coach Bob Knight filed a lawsuit against IU for alleged losses of $2 million. According to the lawsuit, Knight lost these funds from things such as basketball camp fees, radio and TV deals and a shoe contract. In addition to this loss in income, Knight is contending that he was fired without cause, without a chance to defend himself and without an open meeting of University officials. The administration is standing behind its decision to fire Knight. Despite the outcome of the lawsuit, IU is paying Bob Knight $425,000 a year for the next eight years.\nSo are these lawsuits and attempted settlements in the interest of principle or money? On the one hand, we have a he said-he said battle against Knight and President Myles Brand who each have different versions of the story. Knight claims that Brand agreed to speak over the phone concerning his possible firing in the fall of 2000, as Knight was vacationing in Canada at the time. But Brand held a press conference to announce Knight's firing saying that he had refused to meet in person. Thus, Knight lost the chance to defend his actions, and neither side will budge -- one on the principle of the matter and the other to cover his tracks. \nBut Knight was fired two years ago, and that cannot be undone. Since he couldn't defend himself, we can only speculate who told the truth about a confrontation between a coach and a student that led to the firing in the fall of 2000. The lawsuit could not truly tell us what really happened. So the lawsuit exists to re-compensate Knight for the income lost as a result of his firing. The principle of the matter falls victim to the almighty dollar. \nSo Knight lost TV and radio endorsements from IU. Last time I checked, his Gladware commercial was still airing regularly. After being fired Knight wrote a book, "Knight: My Story." He quickly found steady work coaching in the Big Twelve for Texas Tech. Not to mention IU still pays him $425,000 each year. If I ever get fired from a job I hope to be treated a fraction as well as Knight has. \nI am a Bobby Knight fan who was devastated to see him fired and especially in the way that he was. But I believe it is time to move on. Knight certainly doesn't need $2 million extra dollars, and our tuition and fees at IU are rising as it is. If Knight wants to argue the principles of his firing, he can do so in ways that don't affect the financial state of this public learning institution. He can continue to write books, make humorous commercials or hold press conferences on the subject. He certainly has the attention of the media. Finding success as a coach at Texas Tech could perhaps be one of the best and classiest ways to stick it to the administration.\nA number of students, faculty, alumni and fans are unhappy about the events of 2000 and unhappy with the administration in general. But two years have passed, and Brand is leaving IU at the end of the semester. Knight will always be remembered as one of the greatest basketball coaches in IU history. We don't need a lawsuit to tell us that. Why should he?