Bob Knight audio clip that leaked in early ’90s remains unforgettable

Jhon

8 months ago

Bob Knight's profane tirade begins with him yelling at then-Indiana basketball player Greg Graham and his unacceptable defense.

The audio clip lasts 80 seconds and features an angry Knight, who died on Wednesday at the age of 83, unleashing a torrent of blasphemies, deceptions, threats and ultimatums.

The clip begins with Knight scolding Graham:

“If you're not going to recover, Greg Graham, if you're just going to let him walk past you, if the rest of you are going to let him catch the ball out of the three-second lane and go all the way. Here without anyone challenging him, then I'm gone and you (expletives) can run until you can't even suffer.

"Now, I'm tired of this (expletive). I'm sick and tired of an (expletive) 8-10 record. I'm (expletive) tired of losing to Purdue. I'm not here to (expletive) around this week. Now, You may be, but not me.”

This leaked audio was from the 1990-91 season, given the references and Graham's place on the roster, but the clip wasn't widely disseminated until the mid-1990s. It eventually went viral, in its own way, before we said that things went viral.

Knight's Profane Outbursts Were No Secrets in the mid-1990s, thanks in part to John Feinstein's influential and classic book, "A Season on the Brink: A Year with Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers." Knight's news conferences often carried tension that bordered on explosion. hide who he was.

But hearing him scream at the practice, which was supposed to be private, was surprising, fascinating, entertaining and terrifying. All of it pure Bob Knight.

Leaked Knight Audio Hits Email

It's not exactly clear how the audio was leaked, but a student administrator's recording practice was likely responsible. There is an Internet conspiracy theory that the source was then-student coach Lawrence Frank, a former NBA coach and now president of basketball operations for the Los Angeles Clippers who was attending Indiana at the time. He has never confirmed it.

I don't remember the exact circumstances of how I received the audio, but it was in an email that had been forwarded to me and several others, and of course I forwarded it too. At the time, since there was no such thing as going viral, I felt like I was part of an insider's club.

OPINION:Bob Knight might be an idiot, but he taught the journalist about passion and effort.

You have to understand: when this was recorded, the Internet in the way we use it today didn't exist, and in the mid-1990s, social media didn't exist. Email wasn't as ubiquitous then, as not everyone was connected. Today, this audio would be everywhere, quickly. Think of Golden State's Draymond Green punching teammate Jordan Poole before the start of last season. Within days, the video was leaked and became a major NBA story.

Knight's clip ends with (expletive) fireworks

Knight had an 8-10 season in the Big Ten at Indiana: 1989-90. Graham was on the roster that season as a freshman and was part of the team in 1990-91. The Hoosiers were good in 1990-91, going 29-5 overall and tied for first in the Big Ten with Ohio State at 15-3. They ultimately lost to Kansas in a Sweet 16 game.

A commenter on YouTube posits that the recording took place in January 1991, sometime between beating Northwestern 99-58 on January 5 and playing Purdue on January 14. The Hoosiers had lost to the Boilermakers twice the previous season.

Knight wasn't there that week to (expletives). The audio continues:

“I'm not here to take my (expletive) hit on Monday, and you better (expletive) understand that right now. This is absolute (expletive). Now, I'll leave your (expletive) right on the ground. You’ll think last night was a (expletive) picnic.”

(How miserable was last night's practice, if the next bad-play penalty was going to make it look like a picnic?)

In the last part of the clip, Knight yells, “I had to sit out for a (expletive) year with an 8-10 record in this (expletive) league. And I mean you won't put me in that (expletive) position again or you (expletive) will pay for it like you can't (expletive) believe.”