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Tank McNamara

Postby Smoodaddy » Wed Apr 12, 2000 10:08 am

Anybody read the Tank McNamara comic strip in Sports Day? The last few days Tank has been interviewing the Gov. of Indiana about Bob Knight. There was a pretty funny line today. Quote "A quick squeeze to the neck works for most kids. To get some guys on line, they need to black out."
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Re: Tank McNamara

Postby DiamondM » Wed Apr 12, 2000 2:56 pm

That's pretty darn funny. I am so glad that video tape is out so the Indiana wall that for some reason protects Knight will have to abandon its "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" attitude.

A.J. Guyton's defense of Knight after Reed's accusations just made me sick. Why is it that his players and others who still support that abusive person think that physical, verbal, and emotional abuse is an acceptable way to mold players into "men?!"

[This message has been edited by DiamondM (edited 04-12-2000).]
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Re: Tank McNamara

Postby FWMustang » Thu Apr 13, 2000 12:16 pm

Do you have a better way? Why are kids killing people, more disobedient than ever and in more trouble with the law than ever? Because they have no concept of authority. They want everything handed to them by the time they are 16.

For 1000's of years, boys have had rites of passage to become men. So in the last 20 years, our high&mighty society has deemed it inappropriate behavior. The other lesson it teaches is that there is always a bigger fish than you out there somewhere.

Most kids, especially athletes, these days think that they are IT for all time. I don't condone a lot of the very abusive behavior and I don't know how to quantify how much is too much.

But I went thru some hazing in high school and in college. Those time are some of the fondest memories that I have because I have something in common with the people who came before me and after me.

He defended Bobby Knight because the man probably taught him things that otherwise he would never know and that we can't understand. So to immediatelt dismiss anyone who defends somebody you don't agree with as a a moron is petty.

Everybody needs to be yelled at, pushed around and put in their place at some point if they are out of line. Your boss probably does it in less subtle ways, but it is still the same. Does your boss subtly imply that you work 70 hours a week? Is that any less "abusive" than yelling at a kid for doing something wrong?
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Re: Tank McNamara

Postby DiamondM » Thu Apr 13, 2000 12:50 pm

Well, I won't get into a political debate on what I think are the causes of the "decline" in American society. But I feel pretty safe in saying that I highly doubt there is a strong causal link between the "decline" and the decreasing acceptance of physical, emotional, and mental abuse of young people in their upbringing. I have great respect for authority, my elders, those that came before me, etc. without ever "needing" such treatment.

As for yelling at players when they do something wrong, I have no problem with that. Everyone need a (figurative) kick in the behind sometimes to get their head in the game. That is not what Knight appears to do. He doesn't just yell at them for poor play or poor effort, but seems to have no qualms about belittling them as people. A coach's job, imo, is not about tearing down, but building up. That is to say, every time you yell for a stupid play, it is constructive in some fashion. Clearly, Knight's behavior and tactics are increasingly DEstructive, rather than constructive. Not to mention the repeated and increasingly frequent physical lashing out that has nothing to do with making these kids into "men" or "players", but is all about Knight's inability to control his anger and physical impulses.

As for the players' gratefulness to Knight for teaching them things they never would have learned, I have no doubt that he did teach them something about basketball, and maybe even about being "tough" or somesuch. And, yes, often times people that have been through hazing say it has only made them stronger and bonded with the people who went through the same thing. It's a definite group think mentality. (Not insulting you, it's just human nature). But it's like saying, "my dad beat the s**t out of me when I was a kid and look how good I turned out." But I would argue that the resulting strong, confident person evolved in spite of the beatings, not because of them. And if a Knight player has it beat into their head that the way to get results is through constant abuse, then they will probably believe (if they survive it) that it is an acceptable, and even admirable, coaching style.

But college basketball shouldn't be something that you "survive" to make you tougher, but something you enjoy, cherish, and love.

I think it is pretty significant that despite the rally round Knight rhetoric that former players and assistant coaches trumpet when asked by media, few of his former players and assistant coaches have followed in his coaching style footsteps. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then what is it when every one who went through your system eshews it for themselves?

****After I wrote this I went to <A HREF="http://www.dukebasketballreport.com" TARGET=_blank>www.dukebasketballreport.com</A> and found this little commentary that I thought you might be interested in: <A HREF="http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/ourcall/index.cgi?70" TARGET=_blank>http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/ourcall/index.cgi?70</A>

[This message has been edited by DiamondM (edited 04-13-2000).]
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Re: Tank McNamara

Postby MustangMan » Tue Apr 18, 2000 11:30 am

When I was in high school, my sister attended Indiana. One morning, when she was in class, she recruited a friend of hers to take me over to the basketball arena, thinking that my sports fanaticism would allow me to enjoy that. (Of course, she was right.) So he took me over there and I was looking at the wall with pictures of Isaiah Thomas, Quinn Buckner, Scott May, etc., when I looked up and saw Bobby Knight walking down the hall toward us. I poked my sister's friend in the arm and pointed out Coach Knight -- like he didn't know who Coach Knight was. As Coach Knight walked by, I waved and said "Hi, Bobby!" Not "Mr. Knight," not "Coach Knight" .... just "Bobby." He was in a fairly nasty mood, looked at me and without slowing down his walk, growled "Do I know you? Who the f--- are you?" With that, he stormed off down the hall.

I was 15 at the time, and I never thought he was rude, or impolite or acting inappropriately. I knew enough about him from media reports that I knew he had that kind of reaction in him. For this consumate sports fanatic, it was somehow a thrill to be cussed out by Coach Knight.

What Coach Knight does (I am not a fan of IU hoops, by any means), is not much different from what coaches do on a lot of campuses. Leave the man alone. We have more important things to worry about.
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