Knight Fouls: Indiana Takes Legal Shot

548 Words2 Pages

Knight Fouls: Indiana Takes Legal Shot
After reports of several transgressions and the surface of a damaging videotape which appeared to show Knight physically assaulting a former player, the president of Indiana, Neil Reed, had explained to Knight that there was a zero tolerance policy where Knight was concerned (Wolff, 2000). Despite the repeated warnings and the newly stated zero tolerance policy, Knight continued to commit transgressions that eventually got him fired from Indiana University where he had coached for almost three decades. Indiana University took a thrashing from Knight fans’ over this decision, but keeping Knight as an agent of the University could have resulted in a legal disaster. From a Biblical worldview, the University showed mercy in the second chances that it provided to Knight. In addition, their actions did not appear to be malicious when they made the decision to let him go.
Agency Law
The University entered into a contract with Knight and as such, Knight became an agent of the University (Jennings, 2013). As an agent of the University, Knight had a fiduciary duty to the University. This responsibility included ensuring that the trust that Indiana had given him was well placed. In the instances of Knight’s questionable behavior, he was acting on behalf of the University and this made Indiana University just as responsible as Knight for his misdeeds. As long as he was under contract, Knight’s actions were essentially those of the University.
Potential Liability
Employers can be held liable for the actions of employees (Jennings, 2012). Knight was an agent of the University and as such, the University was responsible for any torts that Knight committed while working. As a coach, Knight wa...

... middle of paper ...

...itional chances to better his behavior, but his actions at the time did not reflect that he understood what that second change meant.

References
Jennings, M. (2012). Business: Its ethical, legal, and global environment. (9th Ed.) Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning ISBN: 978-0538470544
Keefer, Zak (2013, November 8). Bob Knight should drop Indian grudge, says Pat Knight. USA TODAY Sports. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2013/11/08/bob-knight-indiana-university-grudge-pat-knight/3476909/
John, M. (2010, September 10). Ten years ago today, Indiana fired Bobby Knight. The Crimson Quarry. Retrieved from http://www.crimsonquarry.com/2010/9/10/1678653/ten-years-ago-today-indiana-fired.
Wolff, Alexander (2000, September 18). Knight Fall. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved from http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1020376/

More about Knight Fouls: Indiana Takes Legal Shot

Open Document