Knight's attorney to consider appeal

A week after asking the Indiana Court of Appeals to review his lawsuit against the University, former IU Basketball Coach Bob Knight and his legal counsel are taking a closer look at their chances of overturning a judge's decision to dismiss the case. \nKnight's attorney, Russell Yates, said he will use the next 10 days to reconsider Knight's chances of winning the appeal. In October, Monroe County Circuit Judge Kenneth Todd dismissed the suit Knight levied in November 2002 against the University, which claimed IU violated the terms of his contract by not following proper firing procedures.\n"I feel the court was wrong, the contract was wrong and the way Coach was terminated was wrong," Yates said. "I think that because (then-University President Myles) Brand decided to have a press conference in front of 30 million people to say how bad Coach was, that triggered the for-cause provision to fire him."\nThere are two types of clauses in Knight's contract. The provision in question specifies a "for-cause firing," which required a formal hearing by the University before termination, a hearing Yates said Knight never received. His contract also included a "no-cause" clause. \nKnight has 30 days from the date of the appeal to file a brief to the state appellate court. Yates said the process could take up to two years from that point. \nIndianapolis attorney David Mattingly, who was hired in 2002 to represent IU's interests in the case, was traveling and could not be reached for comment at press time. However, Mattingly told the IDS in September that Knight's contract allowed IU to terminate him for any reason, provided the University continued paying his salary until the end of his contract. If Knight indeed had been fired "for cause," as Yates alleged, that payment would have immediately ceased and a hearing would have commenced. \nIU released a statement following Knight's Sept. 10, 2000, firing in which it claimed the University could fire Knight under paragraph nine of his contract. The excerpt specifies "if the University at any time desires, Coach shall cease to serve as head basketball coach when so advised in writing." A hearing would then purportedly be held to discuss the option to fire the coach. \nKnight's contract also specified that a quorum of members of the Board of Trustees could fire Knight through a majority vote. An alumni lawsuit filed in 2001 challenged several meetings held throughout September 2000 in which the trustees met with Brand to discuss possibly terminating Knight, claiming the meetings violated Indiana's Open Door Laws. \nIU released a statement in November 2002 shortly following Knight's initial filing stating its disagreement with Knight's allegations. \n"The University has fulfilled all of its obligations under the contract it had with Mr. Knight," the statement said. \nUniversity counsel Dorothy Frapwell said IU's position on the issue has not changed. \nYates also specifically targeted Knight's "poorly wrtten" contract, which he maintains is wrought with ambiguity. \nYates, a longtime personal friend of Knight, first approached the coach with an offer to lend legal assistance in 2000. At that time, Knight was under a "zero tolerance" policy by the University.\nYates said he hasn't talked with Knight recently concerning the developments of the case. Knight is currently consumed with the Texas Tech basketball season. \n"I am disappointed that Coach Knight's representation at that time would allow such a poorly drafted contract," he said. "Coach did what most people would do -- he relied on his lawyer to make sure the contract was drafted in such a way that he would be protected. Well, it wasn't."\nYates said while he hasn't made the final decision to move forward with the appeal, he probably will indeed follow through with his original intent. However, he acknowledged the difficulty inherent in such action.\n"It's very difficult to overturn a trial court's decision," Yates said. "We're taking a closer look"