Zero Tolerance - The plights of Patrick Ewing and Bob Knight
If Ewing possessed a more engaging personality, Knicks fans may have reacted differently to the news that the centerpiece of their team was to be disposed of. Righteous indignation might have dominated popular sentiment rather than cheers of approval. At the very least, people probably would have been prone to say that although the time had come to move on without Patrick, they would miss him. Instead, by all appearances a rather awkward pre-game introduction awaits him at the start of next season. Ewing has told New York that he is fed up with the disloyalty of its populace, they have told him that the disgruntlement goes both ways, yet their marriage remains in place.
Cries of protest resound in the air over the well-earned exit of Bob Knight. There is no disputing that he has little control over his temper, that he is a man capable of many impatient cruelties, each of which lengthens his list of enemies. But neither can it be denied that Knight is a proven winner. What has Ewing done?
Well, he has only given all of himself during his tenure as a New York Knick. He has played through a myriad of injuries, played alongside an insufficient supporting cast for most of his career, played in the glare of the most intense media spotlight that exists in sports. His flaws are regularly recounted for public record, his attributes discounted after every missed finger roll or mishandled pass in crunch time. Yet he has routinely held his head up high, boldly predicted year after year that a championship is his for the taking, and then played his heart out until the final loss of each season.
Fans can barely recall the pre-Ewing days when playoff appearances were a pipe dream instead of an annual ritual. Eventually they will be reminded of the doldrums he rescued them from. Then they will finally come to recognize what they once had, but failed to appreciate until it was too late. This is what Ewing may have to make due with in place of a victorious trip to the NBA Finals and the long sought label of champion.
Bob Knight and Patrick Ewing are both warriors. One is being heralded by many in spite of his failings, the other derided because of his. One has been run out of town, the other almost was as well, but not quite, for Ewing’s presence in New York
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