Gary V. Powell, Author

I love Indiana basketball. I love it almost as much as writing, cooking, and spending time on my boat with my family. In fact, IU basketball is a huge part of  both my life and that of my family's. We watch every game of every season. We know all the players, their strengths and weaknesses. We live the season with them. We love the kids and their play on the court. We follow up to see what happens to them after graduation. It's not rational, I know. But it's who we are and what we do.

I'm so upset by the Kelvin Sampson recruiting scandal that I can hardly sleep. But I have a different take on it than many. Unlike the throng of Bobby Knight supporters who are calling for his hide, I think both those supporters and the NCAA are subjecting him to a cruel double standard.

The Violations

First, unlike many who are rushing to judgement against Sampson, I've taken the time to research the rules he's alleged to have violated. The rule he was found to have violated at Oklahoma, which Indiana considered "secondary" when Sampson was hired, is a rule that prescribes how often a recuiting college coach can place phone calls to high school recruits. Under the rule, a recruiter tis limited to one call per week following written permission from the recruit. The NCAA charged Sampson with violating this rule. The actual charge is confidential, so it's hard to tell exactly what happened. Apparently, there were upwards to 500 instances where Sampson or an assistant called a recruit at home more than once a week over a 4-year period. It's unclear as to whether these calls were intentional, were placed by Sampson himself or assistants, or were due to negligence.

In any event, the NCAA gave both Sampson and Oklahoma no more than a slap on the wrist for the violations. IU hired Sampson even with the cloud over his head. The violations were not considered serious. Bobby Knight Nation and many other IU supporters railed against Sampson's hiring at the time,contending IU could have had anyone and that the University hardly needed a "cheater." This was hubris. Following the embarassment Bob Knight brought to the school and the 4 years of poor coaching and recruiting by Mike Davis, IU was not the plum these supporters believed. IU was lucky to get a coach of Sampson's caliber.

In any event, let's put this in perspective. Sampson has never been charged with offering anyone money or favors to play for him. At worst, he called more often than he should have. That's not to minimize the violations, but to consider excessive phone to cause harm of the same magnitude as money changing hands is ridiculous.

Furthermore. reporting of phone calls and maintenance of phone call logs is up to the coaches and assistants. Sampson reported his violations at Oklahoma. He turned in his phone logs. He called more than he should, but from all evidence available he didn't try to hide what he'd done. The NCAA discovered the violations from a reading on his (and his staff's) self-reported logs.

The Indiana Sanctions

Upon being hired by Indiana, Sampson was subjected to additional sanctions by both IU and the NCAA. Neither he nor his staff was allowed to place phone calls to recruits at all. Phone logs revealed in October showed violations, most of which were attributable to an assistant by the name of Senderoff. Senderoff is alleged to have made about 100 impermissible calls and to have patched Sampson in on ten of the calls via a three-way telelphone conversation.

The NCAA is now saying that Sampson lied about those calls--he said he didn't recall them, or wasn't aware a recruit was on the line, or that the subject matter of the call was innocuous, i.e. scheduling the time of planned visits.

The phone call violations are considered minor violations, the alleged lying is considered a major violation.

What Really Happened?

No one knows if Sampson intentionally participated in illicit telephone calls, or if he intentionally misled the NCAA about the nature of his participation.

In my mind, there's little doubt he should have done whatever it took to prevent the calls. Once he became aware that Senderoff was making improper calls, he should have reported his assistant to the University and the NCAA.

That's what he should have done. On the other hand, it's an extremely high standard to hold a man to. Sampson hired Senderoff, trusted him, and was trying to do his best at his job of winning at IU. It almost seems as if he's being crucified for that.

In any event, Senderoff resigned under pressure and Sampson forfeited a $500,000 bonus and a scholarship offer.

Put it in Perspective

Again, Sampson is not alleged to have offered money or anything else of value to recruits.

He's not alleged to have hidden his phone calls on his phone logs--indeed, it was his (and Senderoff's)  phone logs that alerted the University and the NCAA to the problem in the first place.

Sampson is not alleged to have harmed anyone in anyway.

Placed in that perspective, the violations, while undeniable, seem relatively innocuous. As it turns out, the recruits to whom the "excessive and violative" calls were made are not coming to Indiana.

Where's the "no harm, no foul" standard?

The Bobby Knight Standard

Bobby Knight supporters including former players Kent Benson and Ted Kitchell have taken the self-righteous position that Sampson's wrongs and alleged wrongs place a blight on the University like nothing before. They point out that during Knight's tenure, no NCAA sanctions were brought against the University and that these current alleged violations tarnish the University's reputation beyond anything that transpired in the past.

This is a load of crap.

No one did more to tarnish IU's reputation and image than Bobby Knight. I was a 4-year letterman in gymnastics at IU. Even before Bobby's irrational and dangerous behavior reached the national press, other coaches and their minions (like me) knew that Knight was a bully and a nut job. He was renowned for breaking up his office, screaming obscenities at defenseless secretaries, and bullying everyone from the athletic director to academics who taught his players. His crass and violent behavior, often occurring on a national stage, should have earned NCAA, Big Ten, and University sanctions. Knight supporters say that IU basketball is not just about winning, but it was Bobby's winning ways that allowed him to remain coach long after he ceased being a winner and long after his negatives outweighed his positives. His presence on the side lines earned the conference and the University TV money and top notch recruits. But, unlike Sampson's alleged violations, Knight's behavior was harmful, dangerous, and bordering on the deranged. Long before he was finally fired, IU basketball had become all about Bobby, not the kids who played for him.

By contrast, Kelvin Sampson has always placed his kids before himself. He's shown humility before the fans and the press. His kids have demonstrated both love and respect for him. By contrast, in his later years, Knight inspired fear an loathing more than anything else.

Placed in that perspective, Kelvin Sampson's alleged violations seem meager indeed. Those hard core Knight supporters who are rooted to a long, gone era (it's been 20 years, folks, since Bobby won a National Championship), come across as unreasonable at best, and racist at worst. These were the same people who hooted Mike Davis out the door, despite a winning record and a final four appearance over four seasons.

What Should Happen

If IU fires Sampson, it will look like they set him up for the firing with the additional sanctions that were placed on him. It will look as if the administration finally buckled and gave in to the Knight supporters, because it's almost certain that Dan Dakich (a good and decent man), a Knight-era assistant coach on Sampson's staff, will have Sampson's job. If IU fires Sampson, it will look as if they're willing to place nostalgia ahead of what's best for the kids on today's team. If IU fires Sampson, it will look as if the administration is taking the kind of steps it should have taken against Bobby Knight fifteen years before they finally fired him--when, in fact, Kelvin Sampson is no where near the crazed person Bobby Knight was.

The University should stick to its guns and abide by the sanctions it imposed last fall following the investigation by the law firm of Ice Miller. It should stand behind its coach and its team and allow Sampson to finish the season. Make the NCAA and departed IU president Miles Brand prove its trumped up charges. If, as is highly unlikely, it is proven that Sampson intentionally lied, deal with the fall out after the hearing in June. If the NCAA's "major" charges go unproves (the most likely scenario), IU should go further with Sampson and the sanctions already imposed.

After all, the University gave Bobby Knight 15 years of second chances.