ESPN's Bob Knight Swears on Air

When ESPN hired Bob Knight as a college basketball analyst, some questioned whether the coach with the legendary temper would be able to work as a TV commentator without dropping any four-letter words.

As it has turned out, in his year with the Worldwide Leader, Knight has been great on the air at breaking down basketball games, and doing it without employing any obscenities. At least until today.

On Wednesday's Mike and Mike in the Morning, Knight called in (on the Subway hotline, as the sponsor-heavy show calls it) to talk some college basketball. Things were going fine until a moment during the show when Knight suddenly seemed to think he had been cut off and said, "Oh, s**t. I lost you."

With that, Knight hung up his phone, while co-host Mike Greenberg scrambled to try to get him back on topic, saying, "No, we got it. Bob Knight, we're still there, we hear you. Bob, do you hear us? I think Bob Knight may have just lost us there, so we'll try and get him back here. I was able to hear him."

So was everyone else.

Overall, as on-air slip-ups go, muttering the S-word is a fairly minor one. In fact, Knight has seemed like such an easygoing fellow on TV recently that it was kind of refreshing to hear some of the old profanity again. Even if Subway probably didn't like it.

UPDATE: I got the following response from ESPN: "It was an unfortunate slip and we apologize."

What Did They Say?

"Oh, [expletive]. I lost you."
Coaching legend Bob Knight made the slip-up during an appearance on 'Mike and Mike in the Morning'. ESPN called it an "unfortunate slip."

Jamie Squire, Getty Images

"I'd Take One Bullet, and Put It Right in Him ... "
Sounding harsher than he probably meant to, Cris Carter states that Dallas should part ways with Terrell Owens, then compares the act to shooting the brash wide receiver.

Brian Ach, WireImage

"With All These Chinese People Around..."
Richard Boxall was one of two Sky Sports commentators that made racial remarks about golfer Anthony Kim during the HSBC Champions tournament. Click through to see more slip-ups from the broadcasting world.

Warren Little, Getty Images

"Ya know, Hitler was a great leader too."
ESPN College Gameday personality Lou Holtz somehow compared the leadership skills of Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez to Adolf Hitler during a telecast this season.

Joe Raymond, AP

"Please Pick Up My Dry Cleaning Tomorrow"
ESPN personality and Monday Night Football commentator Tony Kornheiser responds to a play broadcast in Spanish with an attempt at a joke translation. He ends up apologizing for his comment.

Paul Sakuma, AP

"You Always Fag Out"
College hoops announcer Billy Packer has upset many with abrasive remarks over the years. For example, he went on the Charlie Rose Show in March 2007 and complained to the host, "you always fag out."

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Bernstein's Palestinian Connection
ESPN reporter Bonnie Bernstein issued a public apology after appearing on a radio broadcast and saying "People in Palestine are taught to think that dying in the name of God is a good thing ... They grow up wanting to be suicide bombers."

Brian Ach, WireImage.com

"... Looks Like the Guy Who Cleans Tiger's Swimming Pool"
NBC Sports golf analyst drew the ire of U.S. Open watchers in June when he said contender Rocco Mediate "looks like the guy who cleans Tiger's swimming pool." Miller apologized for his description, saying it had "absolutely nothing to do with his ethnicity."

John Shearer, WireImage.com

"We've Gotta Do This ----ing Thing Over"
The ever-salty Bert Blyleven, pictured here after winning the 1987 World Series, cursed up a storm on live television during a Minnesota Twins pregame show in September 2006.

Getty Images

"Lynch Him in a Back Alley"
Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman gained notoriety during a 2008 PGA Tour telecast when she suggested young golfers might want to take Tiger Woods and "lynch him in a back alley."

Getty Images

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)

3-11-2009 @ 10:55AM

mike said...

Hilarious. ESPN would probably suspend most employees for that, but they won't do anything to Knight.

3-11-2009 @ 1:54PM

richardcromer9 said...

BOB KNIGHT KNOWS HIS BASKETBALL NO DOUBT BUT IS NOT ONE TO BE A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR YOUNGSTERS WITH HIS ANTICS OFF THE BENCH IN PAST YEARS. SWEARING IS PROBABLY JUST A WAY OF LIFE WITH HIM BUT IS STILL UNCALLED FOR OF A BASKETBALL COACH.
RICHARD CROMER

3-11-2009 @ 3:56PM

gobluefan said...

Turn off your caps lock button!

3-12-2009 @ 9:25AM

lougagner said...

Are you kidding? The players on the court and the field are doing and saying a lot worse than that. I'm not a Knight fan, but seriously, is this even newsworthy?

3-12-2009 @ 9:37AM

scr2384 said...

he has coached college students his whole career...by that point they should know right from wrong and understand when it is okay to swear and when it is not. They do use that kind of language on the court and they understand that it is Bobby Knight. He is cotroversial because of his language and antics...that alone should make kids understand it is not accepted

3-11-2009 @ 3:23PM

mthbwu said...

Its funny. Bobby gets chastised for his actions over the years but most baseball mags. act the same way and its part of the game.
Bobby graduated a lot more than baseball people will ever know.

3-11-2009 @ 3:51PM

obamaizadope said...

this guy and his entire family need to just go away..

3-11-2009 @ 4:12PM

MonkeyCheez52 said...

Poor Bob. He probably hung up the phone and threw a chair.

3-11-2009 @ 4:14PM

BDarr20 said...

Good, anything bad that happens to Mike and Mike is good for the rest of us. Keep getting sponsors for everything you do and keep resetting every 30 seconds. This is Mike and Mike in the Morning, This is Mike and Mike in the Morning. UGH. We get it, we know we are listening to Mike and Mike in the morning Greenburg, you don't have to say it 5 times a segment, they are short enough as is.

3-11-2009 @ 5:26PM

fjodirector said...

Who cares. There are alot worse things stated on air.

3-11-2009 @ 5:53PM

Blackie said...

Let the guy alone. We are swear sometimes in our lives. And with wicked nasty words. Bob Knight is doing a great job on TV. Again, let the guy alone.

Jim said...

Bob Knight is a total bore. He's boring to listen to and a disgrace to role-model coaches. He should just crawl under a rock and disappear.....

3-11-2009 @ 6:07PM

LYLE said...

wow, he said the s word, omg call the cops. gee serioursly i have heard worse much worse during a game on the sidelines from coaches and other players, come on get a life , hell I bet 90 percent of the people that heard it didnt even give it a second thought, and it could of been much worse

3-11-2009 @ 6:24PM

drb107 said...

Give the guy a break, Bob Knight is one of the best if not the best college basketball Coach, he just didn't tolerate wimps playing for him, they went to the ACC instead

3-11-2009 @ 6:25PM

tim1970wh said...

Yall hater's don't like Bob because he is what everybody wants to be, the alltime winnings basketball coach, graduate his players, and did it it his way, HOw many of us can do what we want at work and have the same results. I'm Tarheel fan for life, but I respect Bobby for what he has done for the game. When his team bea the crap out your's I bet yall said a few curse words also, I know I did.

KEEP DOING WHAT YOU DOING. also for BDARR20 mike and mike has to say that it is script you numb nuts.

3-11-2009 @ 6:39PM

bigflyer said...

Knight is an abusive, nasty man whose best days as a coach coincided with his abominable behaviour.
He could not even understand a shy Larry Bird causing freshman Bird to go to Ind State instead of IU. Knight's best years as a coach were long ago. He abused his players, threw chairs, was wanted for arrest in PR. How can we miss him if he just won't go away?

3-11-2009 @ 6:49PM

rick said...

Whether you love him or hate him you have to admit that Robert Montgomery Knight is one of the easiest targets to prey on. For him to even utter the fecal matter word (sh*t) on the air is way out of bounds. I suggest that he be immediatly fired and put on trail for this ludicrus action. In fact the Judge should be no other than Myles Brand and who ever Judge Brand decides to decide the case. I mean don't you think it is time that Mr. Knight should be accountable for his actions. Lets face it the guys a run away train heading right straight toward the collapse of the american way of life. The very morals that all the other NCAA division I coaches adhire to, as if it were the holy grail, are beyond approach. They all follow the strict recruitment policies, have exceptional graduation rates and build our young players to be law abiding,productive members of our society.
So to have a man such as Coach Knight try and undermine that is truley a travesty in it self.
But the real travesty isn't with coah Knight, it the fact that many reading this, agreed for the most part that Coach Knight is a real threat. Many people outside of the loop concerning the events that transpired in Bloomington when coach left were never truly revealed to the general public. That the tactics Miles Brandt and his croonies used to oust the coach at IU were not as above board as they would like you to think.
Put in simple terms Miles Brand had a hard on for coach that can only be matched by Hitler and his gistapo. Secret meetings behind closed doors, meetings with the board of directors not open to the general public. In fact some of the board members were exclude because they didn't have the same level of hate for the coach as he did. So instead of all of the facts being told, it eas only the bad publicity that was brought out into the open for all of the press and america to see. As we all know Coach Knights achievments on the court were unprecedented by any ones measure. It the of court acheievments that were left out and swept under the rug by Miles and his coherts. They never mentioned his overall graduation percentage, the charity funds the coach had raised in his years at Bloomington. No mention the revenues he and his teams had accumulated for the IU athletic dept.
And by the way, when Miles Brand left IU as athletic director the dept was near 3 million dollars in debt. I suppose that was Knights fault also, depending who you ask. So all I can say to all NCAA basketball fans is this. Miles Brand is now the president of the NCAA Division 1 ahtletics. And I hope and pray that what coach Knight, Al McGuire,Digger Phelps, and a list of other great coaches of the past who have made the game what it is today, can undure the ignorant,power controlling likes of Miles brand and his croonies. It is my opinion that alot of what is happening with todays kids, the loss of respect for there supierors, blatant disregard for athoritive figures, and the overall attitude that winning is everything and who cares what has to be done to achieve this doesn't come back to bite us all right square in the but. One other little side note on coach Knight and his many years at IU. During his tenure not on major NCAA infraction, yes I said none. Over a 95% graduation rate for players who stayed the 4 years and most importantly of all those graduating most if not all went on to lead productive, satisfying lives in a number of varius professions. A feat that will probably not be attained agin in my life time. So hats of to coach for what I consider a job well done, both on and of the court. And to Miles Brand all I can say is what goes around comes around and I doubt you will have the kahunas to handle what lays before you. In other words I think you are a big pile of s&*t.

3-12-2009 @ 10:14AM

culdbyurs said...

Right on Rick. I actually worked in Assembly Hall during that time and was shocked at what went on. Sure Bobby might have cussed on the radio. Who cares?? Hardly seems like news to me. I hear worse things on TV at night after 9pm. He was an extrodinary coach and for all of us true sports fans, will remain as one of the best ever.