Knight has been one of college basketball's most successful coaches, that is if you just look at his career winning percentage (.725) or number of national championships (3). But as an educator, and in particular a Jewish educator, I have a different spin. Knight's story isn't a story in success at all.

Knight claimed in his interview that he is proud of what he's taught "his kids." What exactly has Knight taught "his kids"? I'll summarize what he's taught them: It's okay to bully others. It's acceptable to head butt your own players. It's okay to lose control by throwing chairs and other objects on to the basketball court. It's okay to shout profanities at referees. It's okay to act disrespectfully to administrators/superiors at your place of work. It's okay to grab people by the arm in a threatening manner. Why is it okay? Because we're winning basketball games.

One way to judge whether or not a particular action or behavior is right or wrong is to magnify that action or behavior to all of society. Is it wrong to pick a flower from a neighbor's garden without asking? One might surmise: It's okay, it's just one flower -- my neighbor won't even notice. But, if everyone picked just one flower, that neighbor would no longer have a garden. Obviously, it isn't all right.

If every college coach behaved as Bob Knight behaved, what kind of athletic programs would we have in this country? I bet before long we would have mass chaos on the courts and fields across the nation. Athletes would soon behave as their coaches behave, and fights would occur between athletes, coaches, referees, and fans each and every game. I wouldn't want to watch sports anymore, to say the least.

No doubt some college with a major basketball program will offer Knight a job, because that school will put winning at all costs above decency and decorum. That saddens me tremendously, but I am not naive -- I know that it will probably happen.

There are plenty of successful coaches, far more successful than Bob Knight, who behave in a kind and decent manner towards others: John Wooden, Phil Jackson and Lenny Wilkens come to mind. These coaches are true teachers of basketball, because they taught their players how to behave both on and off the court, not merely how to play a child's game. Players from the programs these men have coached often comment on how these coaches taught them how to behave like an adult.