So, this happened. Again. In response to a question about which No. 1 seed was most vulnerable in the NCAA Tournament, Bob Knight had this to say on Saturday morning:
Wow, Bob Knight really is refusing to utter the word "Kentucky." Basically put Cats on upset alert but refers to 'em as team "from the SEC."
— Kentucky Sports - CJ (@KyleTucker_CJ) March 17, 2012
This is sort of like Urban Meyer calling Michigan "that team up north" or Brady Hoke calling Ohio State, "Ohio." Except, you know, not really.
We know Bob Knight dislikes Kentucky -- that much has been apparent for quite some time. And it's fine if he privately dislikes the Wildcats, John Calipari, or whatever -- that's his right. But he's paid to be an analyst. An unbiased analyst.
And there lies the difference between Knight, a former coach, and Meyer and Hoke, or any other current coach. Bias is fine in the latter instance. But when one's job is to speak with a giant megaphone on a large network -- allowing one to help shape the nation's opinion -- this just can't happen.
Knight may believe Kentucky is vulnerable. As an analyst, he can opine the Wildcats may go down. But when he refers to the Wildcats as "that team from the SEC," he's already sold himself out and revealed his biases. And that's a problem for a man paid by ESPN to analyze the game.
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