Former Indiana Player Accuses Bobby Knight of Physical and Emotional Abuse

[Joneslab]

He alleges:

• That Knight punched him in the back of the head with a closed fist during a walkthrough for an NCAA Tournament game against Seton Hall.
• That inside a sideline huddle during a 1989 game against Louisville – the game when Sports Illustrated famously captured a photo of the coach pushing Jadlow back onto the court -- Knight cracked a clipboard over Jadlow's head.
• That after an NIT game in New York City, an enraged Knight once dug his hands so deeply into Jadlow's sides, he left bruises. Jadlow includes a picture of the bruises Knight left; "It's weird because I never carried a camera," he was telling me Friday over a Stromboli at Nick's. "But I had this thought, 'You know, if I ever write a book about my experiences, I want to have a picture of what he did to me.' "
• That Knight made a habit, with Jadlow and others, of grabbing players by the testicles and squeezing.
• That Knight continually called Daryl Thomas a "(bleeping) p-----" and once instructed the managers to wallpaper Thomas' locker with pictures of female genitalia. Knight also liked to throw tampons at Thomas, who took more abuse than anybody on Jadlow's teams.
• That on the flight home after the 1986 NCAA Tournament loss to Cleveland State, Knight tore up the plane and ultimately grabbed Thomas by the neck and shook him violently.
• That Knight made sport of Jadlow's facial tic in front of the entire team; in the book, former IU teammate Mark Robinson wrote that Knight yelled at Jadlow, "If you don't stop the (bleeping) twitching, I'm going to throw your ass out of here."
• That during a practice, Knight forced Dean Garrett and Keith Smart to run hours of sprints while barking like dogs since they were, in his words, "playing like (bleeping) dogs."

And that, Jadlow said recently, was just a partial accounting of Knight's excesses.

http://www.wthr.com/article/kravitz-former-hoosier-todd-jadlow-tells-his-story-of-knights-abuse-and-his-road-back-from

[Owllycat]

Its not that surprising to hear more stories come out about him. He was something else, yelling all the time, throwing stuff, insulting people, etc. As long as he was leading the team to victories people tended to over look it all at that time.

[Blue Heaven]

Why do I get the feeling this will somehow give Trump an even blacker eye? Don't get me wrong, what Knight did was disgusting. Knight is Trumps buddy though. Following?

[George]

To this I say, "duh."

[KevinHall]

Yet with all that abuse Jadlow says he still looks at Knight as a father figure. You hear that from nearly every players that played for Knight. I don't understand it but that always seems the case. Most of that he talks about I had heard before, The testicle grabbing and the tampons etc.....I don't think there is a whole lot new here that hasn't been said before.

[George]

Yet with all that abuse Jadlow says he still looks at Knight as a father figure. You hear that from nearly every players that played for Knight. I don't understand it but that always seems the case. Most of that he talks about I had heard before, The testicle grabbing and the tampons etc.....I don't think there is a whole lot new here that hasn't been said before.

It's like they're all codependents in an abusive relationship. I can only imagine what life must have been like for his son.

[Blue Heaven]

I feel sorry for Jadlow though. The guy went through a lot. I wonder how many players Knight has messed up?

[Joneslab]

We had our own Bobby Knight in the program with Gillispie.

You had some of that same mystifying loyalty from a couple of his former players. Derek Jasper being one.

[KCKUKFan]

I wish somebody would've done this stuff to me between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two. I would've broken my fist off in his face.

Dunno why more of these kids didn't.

[Joneslab]

I wish somebody would've done this stuff to me between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two. I would've broken my fist off in his face.

Dunno why more of these kids didn't.

Could be because they knew what they were going to get for the most part with Knight when they signed on to play for him. Once there was a move from the verbal to the physical, they couldn't see the difference because they'd been desensitized. Just like any abusive relationship.

We always ask why people can't get out of awful marriages. There are many reasons but one is that there's a difference between how they see it from inside and how we see it from out here. You probably keep telling yourself that it's normal, it's fine, it's okay, when it really isn't.

Anybody who's played sports has been dog cussed by coaches. It's a rite of passage. The line between military-style discipline and outright abuse is sometimes very thin.

[KevinHall]

By the time Jadlow went to IU he had to know what he was getting into. It was the late 80's and everyone knew what type of camp Knight ran. I don't feel real sorry for him for that reason. Also he could have left at anytime too. To me this sounds like he used that to write and sell a book. It's not all about his time at IU but that is what will sell it. At least Jadlow thinks so, I'm sure.

[Blue Heaven]

By the time Jadlow went to IU he had to know what he was getting into. It was the late 80's and everyone knew what type of camp Knight ran. I don't feel real sorry for him for that reason. Also he could have left at anytime too. To me this sounds like he used that to write and sell a book. It's not all about his time at IU but that is what will sell it. At least Jadlow thinks so, I'm sure.

If he can make some money on that then good for him. It can only help, because if he didn't have any mention of IU and Knight in there it wouldn't sell. Who would buy it? Who is Todd Jadlow? Exactly. I still enjoyed the article though. Even if he weren't an IU player and smearing Knight, I love reading/hearing about redemption stories. Sounds like this guy went through a living hell and he had the will to turn his life around. I love it.

[KCKUKFan]

Anybody who's played sports has been dog cussed by coaches. It's a rite of passage. The line between military-style discipline and outright abuse is sometimes very thin.

Exactly.

Being cursed out by coaches is one thing. Being abused and humiliated is another.

I think we can agree that Bob Knight is just about the most putrid old man on earth.

[Spiritof96]

I struggle to believe the testicle grabbing.... also being "punched" in the head with a closed fist.

I have heard some of Knight's cursing tirades on Youtube. I don't think that crap is effective but I don't think it would have bothered me by college age. Perhaps I am just too old?

Tony Delk was asked about PJ Carlisimo's abusive behavior after the Latrel Sprewell incident. His reply... "I've been coached by worse..."

[Joneslab]

PJ Carlesimo would have been the coach at Kentucky if he would have agreed to shave his beard.

Instead he was bothered that he was asked by fans about it (and then the AD), he flew back to New Jersey to think about it, and in the meantime Newton interviewed Rick Pitino.