IU's legal costs over Knight firing top $500,000

IU has spent more than a half-million dollars defending itself from lawsuits related to the firing of Bob Knight, according to a newspaper report.\nIU had spent $533,552 through December on the four lawsuits initiated by Knight's firing, The Herald-Times reported Wednesday, citing records provided by university officials.\nThat includes spending related to unsuccessful negotiations aimed at avoiding a lawsuit by Knight over his September 2000 firing after 29 seasons as men's basketball coach at the Big Ten school.\nKnight filed a lawsuit against IU in November, alleging that he was fired without cause, without a proper meeting of university trustees and without a chance to defend himself.\nUniversity attorney Dorothy Frapwell said IU has had no real choice but to contest the lawsuits. "We believe that the principles involved in these cases are important to the university and its employees," she said.\nThen-IU President Myles Brand fired Knight days after an IU student claimed the coach had twisted his arm and admonished him after he greeted Knight by his last name.\nBrand said he fired Knight because the coach violated a "zero-tolerance" policy that IU officials had imposed to try to keep his behavior in check.\nMore than half the spending - about $282,000 - was related to a lawsuit by The Indianapolis Star seeking access to personnel records related to the firing. The newspaper appealed the case after IU won in a trial court.\nIU also is battling a lawsuit by 46 alumni and basketball fans contending trustees violated the state Open Door law by conducting illegal closed-door meetings to discuss firing Knight; another by former Knight assistant Ron Felling, who contends that he was shoved by the former coach; and Knight's own lawsuit.\nKnight is now men's basketball coach at Texas Tech.