2 -iTe MichiganDaily- SportsMonday - September 11, 2000

Students support Knight in rally*

BLOOMINGTON (AP) -- They
were Knig7ht's army, marching from
Assembly Hall to the home of the
Indiana University president who had
fired the basketball coach.
"Hey, hey, ho, ho. Myles Brand has
got to go," some students chanted.
"Burn in hell, Brand," said a banner
hanging from a balcony.
Someone ignited an effigy of Kent
Harvey, the freshman whose Thursday
run-in with Knight at Assembly Hall
triggered a weekend of news confer-
ences, investigations and meetings
that ended with Bob Knight's dis-
missal.
The news of the firing Sunday
brought students to the arena where
banners celebrate Knight's three
national championships. The students
cursed Brand. Then, thousands strong,
marched about a half mile to the pres-
ident's home at the heart of the cam-
pus while police in riot gear stood
watch.
Within the hour of Brand's

announcement, car horns blared and
chants of "We love Bobby" echoed off
the limestone walls of the campus.
James Turner, a 21-year-old senior
from Fort Wayne, grabbed a bullhorn
outside Assembly Hall.
"I was born in the state of Indiana,
I've lived here all my life, and I don't
ever want'to be anywhere else. But
today I'm ashamed to call myself a
Hoosier," Turner said, bringing loud
applause from the crowd.
Andrea Osman held up a red uni-
versity flag on which she scrawled:
"The spineless political institution of
the year."
"I believe Indiana University as an
institution caved in to pressure from
the outside world, specifically the
media, instead of doing what's best for
the IU community," she said.
Moments earlier, someone ignited a
pile of red and white Indiana apparel
in the arena's parking lot. A police
officer moved in with a fire extin-
guisher. Security guards videotaped

Several Bobby Knight supporters walk toward Assembly Hall shortly after Indiana officials announced Knight's firing.
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the action.
Matt Schildkret, 18, could not con-
tain his frustration.
"All the freshmen, we came here to
see Bobby. Now we can't see him. It's
ridiculous." Schildkret said.
At the Memorial Student Unio
students had watched Brand's new
conference on TV Shilin Chiu, a 20-
year-old senior, recalled a recent trip
to San Francisco where she was asked
about the man who, for many people.
has come to represent Indiana
University. Things will change now
that Knight's gone, she said.
"I believe the university will gain
more recognition," Chiu said.
Knight's players had left the campus
to drive to Indianapolis to wate
Brand's news conference and ponde
whether to finish their college careers
wearing Indiana's cream and crimson
uniforms.
"We realize that IU is a great uni-
versity, but we came here to play for
coach Knight," junior forward Tom
Geyer said. "Right now, you just have
to consider what all your options are."
Before the news conference, Brand
informed Gov. Frank O'Bannon of
decision to fire Knight.
"I have known Bob Knight for
many years and am personally sad-
dened by this outcome and the chain
of events that led to it," O'Bannon
said. "Nonetheless, I am confident
that IU's action today is in the best
interest of the university, and I fully
support its decision."
Steve Alford, the star of Knight's
1987 championship team and now the
coach at Big Ten rival Iowa, sag
Bloomington would not be the same
for him.
"I have always seen Indiana
University and coach Knight as one in
the same," Alford said.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo
acknowledged Knight could have con-
ducted himself better.
"But the great things he's done and
the wonderful things he's accoI
plished far outweigh the bad," Iz'
said.
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