Harvey triplets withdraw, hope to return

Freshman Kent Harvey and his brothers have officially withdrawn from IU, the Office of the Registrar confirmed.\nFollowing an incident Sept. 7 between Kent Harvey and former men's basketball coach Bob Knight, in which Harvey called Knight by his last name, Harvey alleged Knight grabbed and reprimanded him. Knight had been placed under a "zero-tolerance" policy earlier in the year and was fired by the University Sept. 10.\nIn reaction to the firing, demonstrators wore "Kill Kent" T-shirts, carried "Wanted: Dead or Alive" posters and burned Harvey in effigy.\nKnight responded to these actions in a speech Sept. 13.\n"Let him be a student," Knight said. "And let him get on with his life. This thing had happened to me long before that situation took place. That kid is not responsible for my not coaching at Indiana."\nSince the week of the incident the triplets have not been at IU.\n"I didn't really feel comfortable going back to campus," Harvey said, and later added, "I pretty much hurt the basketball program, I guess. I didn't mean to, but a lot of people are pissed off at me and I feel like it would be better if I withdrew right now."\nHarvey said he is keeping his options open and wants to spend some time away from Bloomington.\n"I want to stay in-state. I'm thinking about going to IUPUI," he said. "That gives me next semester. That gives me more time to think about where I might go."\nBut he added he would definitely consider coming back to IU.\n"That's the whole point," he said. "I kind of wanted to go to IUPUI until things settle down." \nHe said his brothers, Kyle and Kevin, also former freshmen, are "pretty much thinking about doing the same thing" because they "look a lot like me. They feel like they could be back there a lot easier than me, but they think the same thing -- that it's probably safer if they do (withdraw)."\nMark Shaw, the triplets' stepfather, said the University will refund the remainder of the tuition and he believes the brothers can one day return to IU.\n"I'm an optimist," he said. "I believe over a period of time hopefully people will have awakened and will realize that the boys have a right to go to school there."\nUntil that time, Kent Harvey said to the IU community: "I think it happened for a reason. I wasn't trying to get Bob Knight fired. I wasn't trying to piss off anybody. I'm sorry if I did, but I wasn't trying to hurt anybody."\nIn response to those who threatened him, he said, "I forgive everybody for all their e-mails and people who have been negative towards me. I don't hold grudges on anybody."\nShaw said, "I'm proud of the boys and the fact they stood up for what they believe in"