Published: March 17, 2008 02:20 pm            

Column: Doc Holliday got it right

Toward the end of the movie “Tombstone,” Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday lay dying and hoping for a miraculous deliverance from tuberculosis.

He said, “My hypocrisy knows no bounds.”

That phrase has been ringing in my head since I heard the announcement that Former Indiana and Texas Tech basketball coach Bob Knight was signed by ESPN to provide commentary for the upcoming NCAA basketball tournament.

Knight has been the bane of the existence for sports writers covering his teams for years. He has the reputation of taking the starch out of media questioners by turning press conferences into circuses and generally refusing to answer legitimate questions from sports writers.

Case in point - When Knight was hired by Texas Tech, an ESPN crew was sent to Lubbock to cover the announcement, which was held at the school’s basketball facility, The United Spirit Arena. Thousands of excited Red Raider fans showed up to celebrate the hiring.

When an ESPN reporter asked Knight about his previous troubles at Indiana and how they would effect his job performance at Tech, Knight attempted to embarrass the questioner by asking the crowd if he should answer.

Of course the mob said no.

Knight has a long history of run-ins with the media. Now he is one of us. I wonder if he would tolerate the kind of behavior he exhibited to others behind the mic.

His hypocrisy knows no bounds.

The Worldwide Leader in Sports is not blameless here, either. They have had untold highlights showing The General ranting at writers, walking out of studios and interviews, and generally behaving poorly toward media representatives.

Even with that knowledge, ESPN raced to Knight’s doorstep to offer him a job.

After having employees criticized and lambasted for reporting Knight’s well-documented blow-ups, the company was still willing to offer a microphone to him.

Their hypocrisy knows no bounds.

Don’t misunderstand. Knight’s record speaks for itself. He knows basketball like few others, he wins games, he graduates players, but he does not like the media and he has made no secret of that fact. Now he is the media.

And ESPN does an incredible job of covering college basketball. However, any credibility the network may have accumulated has been diluted by the hiring of someone who so vehemently railed at them for that very coverage.

        

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