Todd Jadlow...and Bob Knight

[Stuhoo 79,752]

Time to stir the pot a bit; this one will get plenty of discussion, I suppose. For me? It's all but impossible to respect Bob Knight beyond his coaching prowess. I don't care that it was a different era; I grew up in that era and never met a man with Bob Knight's flaws. 

A Kravitz article from today about the life, Bob Knight years, downfall, and possible redemption of Todd Jadlow. Fascinating stuff:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WTHR) — Most of Todd Jadlow's new book, "Jadlow: On The Rebound," is about the former IU basketball player's horrifying and ultimately redemptive journey, about his headlong descent into a life of drugs, alcohol and finally incarceration. It shares, in stark and shocking detail, how far the former Hoosier fell, losing everything including his freedom, how his downward spiral had him thinking about suicide and praying every night that he wouldn't wake up the next morning.

That's not the headline, though, in the recently-released book he co-wrote with former Indianapolis journalist Tom Brew.

This is the headline: Jadlow alleges that former IU basketball coach Bob Knight physically and emotionally abused him and other players.

He alleges:

• That Knight punched him in the back of the head with a closed fist during a walkthrough for an NCAA Tournament game against Seton Hall.
• That inside a sideline huddle during a 1989 game against Louisville – the game when Sports Illustrated famously captured a photo of the coach pushing Jadlow back onto the court -- Knight cracked a clipboard over Jadlow's head.
• That after an NIT game in New York City, an enraged Knight once dug his hands so deeply into Jadlow's sides, he left bruises. Jadlow includes a picture of the bruises Knight left; "It's weird because I never carried a camera," he was telling me Friday over a Stromboli at Nick's. "But I had this thought, 'You know, if I ever write a book about my experiences, I want to have a picture of what he did to me.' "
• That Knight made a habit, with Jadlow and others, of grabbing players by the testicles and squeezing.
• That Knight continually called Daryl Thomas a "(bleeping) p-----" and once instructed the managers to wallpaper Thomas' locker with pictures of female genitalia. Knight also liked to throw tampons at Thomas, who took more abuse than anybody on Jadlow's teams.
• That on the flight home after the 1986 NCAA Tournament loss to Cleveland State, Knight tore up the plane and ultimately grabbed Thomas by the neck and shook him violently.
• That Knight made sport of Jadlow's facial tic in front of the entire team; in the book, former IU teammate Mark Robinson wrote that Knight yelled at Jadlow, "If you don't stop the (bleeping) twitching, I'm going to throw your ass out of here."
• That during a practice, Knight forced Dean Garrett and Keith Smart to run hours of sprints while barking like dogs since they were, in his words, "playing like (bleeping) dogs."

And that, Jadlow said recently, was just a partial accounting of Knight's excesses.

"If he did those things today," Jadlow said, "he (Knight) would be in jail."

And yet, he still reveres Knight. After all of that, he still sees Knight as a father figure. It's complicated, to say the least.Now, sitting here at Nick's with his daughter, Adriana, and a reporter, Jadlow knows there's going to be significant backlash. The Knight true believers will not accept Jadlow's version of events, or they will demean him as a recovering alcoholic and drug addict who is merely telling lies in order to sell a book. They will criticize him for lifting the curtain on Knight and life inside the IU program. He knows all of this. And he's ready. "It's definitely going to be interesting," he said. "But the reason for this book was to be completely honest and transparent. I wanted to tell the whole story of my life, tell people all the worst things I've done in my life and how I've hurt people, especially the ones I love. I wanted to be honest about all of it, my time at Indiana, everything."

"I'm a Knight guy, I'm proud to have played for him and love him like a father; let's not mistake that," Jadlow said. "But this was the life we led when we were playing for him."

"A lot of who he is, I took a lot from. Right or wrong, I took a lot from him. Some aren't good, like holding resentments, like if you've done me wrong once, I'm done with you. That's not right. Loyalty? You can be loyal to a fault. It's misguided, like me not coming back to the (1987) championship reunion (in 2011) out of loyalty to Coach Knight. In hindsight, I deeply regret that decision."

During the writing of the book, Jadlow and Brew attempted to reach out to Knight to give him the opportunity to respond, but they were told by an intermediary that he was not interested. WTHR also called and e-mailed a Knight confidante to offer a chance to share his side of the story. We were told that Knight would not be offering a response.

Again, though, the Knight material is the headline, the stuff that will end up making national news. The greater story, the one Jadlow hopes won't get lost in the Knight conversation, is the one about his decline into alcoholism, drug addiction and incarceration.

This is the CliffsNotes version of that story.

"You know what I remember?" she said, speaking to her father. "The plate. Dad, remember that plate with the big chip in it that was always around the house? I never knew what was on that plate; I thought maybe it was flour or something. I had no idea. But then one day, I figured out that it was cocaine and a straw. I remember going near it one time to look at it, and you went crazy telling me to leave it alone. That's when it all started to make sense to me."Adriana Jadlow, Todd's 20-year-old daughter and a sophomore at Kansas State, is picking at a turkey burger, and the memory comes out of thin air.

Todd looked up from his food and looked horrified, mortified. What have I done to my children?

Jadlow was a relatively straight laced kid growing up in Salina, Kansas. But he didn't live in a happy home, where he said his parents, his teachers, everybody told him he'd never amount to much of anything. He was also hazed and bullied unmercifully, largely because of a facial tic that had him wondering if he was suffering from Tourette's Syndrome.

He tried alcohol once when he was 14 – "It made the pain go away," he said – and he tried marijuana once, although the latter did nothing for him. While at IU, he largely behaved himself, in great part because Knight had no tolerance for that sort of thing.

But after his senior year, he was preparing for the NBA Draft when a teammate at the time called him. "Come by my apartment," he told Jadlow. "I've got something for you."

In fact, while driving to Bloomington North High School Friday morning to speak to a class, Jadlow stopped by that old teammate's apartment and pointed it out to Adriana. "That's where it all began," he told her.

"Man, I liked it. Something about the euphoria. It was 'Todd's secret.' A walk on the wild side, and that fascinated me. It enticed me and drew me in."Jadlow saw the cocaine, a drug he'd never seen before, then told himself, "This is going to be a one-time thing. Just once. Never again." So he snorted a line. He snorted more lines. He loved the euphoria, the sense of invincibility, the way the pain seemed to dissipate. Later that night, he walked to Assembly Hall, where he had a key to the building and the bank of lights, then started shooting hoops with a fraternity buddy. "I felt like I could jump out of the gym," Jadlo said.

Now, talking to the high school students this past Friday, Jadlow was illustrating how that one-time-thing became his life – and his ultimate downfall:

"I wish they would have told me then that after that first drink or first line of cocaine that I would end up being humiliated and shamed, that I would lose my kids, that I would be incarcerated and labeled by a judge as being a risk to society," he said. "I wish that they had told me that I would have my house taken, my cars taken, my clothes, everything. I wish they had told me that I was going to take a revolver and put it in my mouth and I was going to sit there shaking and contemplating whether to pull the trigger. I wish they would have told me that all I'd want to do was die."

Jadlow went on to play professionally overseas for 12 years, and despite his lifestyle, he had plenty of personal and team success. But the drinking was worsening. The cocaine use was completely out of control. "It got to the point where I cared more about the party afterwards than I did the actual game," Jadlow said. "Cocaine was my prize. How crazy is that?"

During his time playing basketball in Argentina, he befriended a man who happened to be a general in the Bolivian cocaine cartel.

"At one time, I had 20 kilos in my apartment, 20 bricks of coke," he said. "That scared me. It was the first time I ever thought that I'm in over my head. This guy starts telling me stories, tells me, 'If you need anybody taken care of, don't worry, we'll take care of it.' I'm thinking, 'What am I doing? This is total lunacy.'"

It didn't diminish his taste for the drug, or for alcohol, or for the lifestyle that he had created. By 2013, he was completely out of control, then finally hit rock bottom.

Jadlow was busted four times in six months for driving under the influence. Four times in six months. Two of those DUI's came the very same day. The second one of the day came with Jadlow driving 121 miles per hour drunk and high with his then-2 year old in the backseat.

"The judge told me if I'd gotten four DUI's in six months, it meant I'd probably driven drunk 4000 times," Jadlow said. "But my luck ran out and it was time to pay."

With alcoholics and addicts, it's not just the alcoholics and addicts who suffer. Jadlow has five children, and they suffered.

"I lived with my dad my sophomore year of high school," Adriana said. "I didn't understand what was happening, why he was starting to take things out on me, why he would say, 'I want to kill myself.' I was oblivious to the fact he was drinking until it got really bad and I moved out. After that, I hated him, didn't want to talk to him, wanted nothing to do with him. Then Dec. 11, 2013, the day he got arrested, I had just finished a big rivalry basketball game, and I looked at my phone and saw all these messages. 'Are you related to Todd Jadlow? Is Todd Jadlow your dad?' And then one of my best friends sent me a picture of him on the news with him being arrested."

It still kills Jadlow that on senior night, all the parents accompanied their daughters on the court to be celebrated. All the parents, except one. Jadlow was in jail. Even recounting it now, in front of the Bloomington North students, his voice cracks with emotion.

Remember that 2-year old who was in the back seat when Jadlow was popped for going 121 miles per hour while intoxicated?

”

"I didn't see her for 15 months, and then I'll never forget this, I finally got to see her under a supervised setting," Jadlow said. "As my daughter walked in, she hid behind the lady who was proctoring the visit and I heard her say, 'No Dad, no Dad.' She didn't even want to see me. I could see this look in her eyes -- 'What did you do? How could you abandon me like that?'"

Even still, it took Jadlow time to look in the mirror and see who he had truly become. For months, he denied that he had a significant problem that was going to someday kill him and cause more pain for his family. He was still Todd Jadlow, the pro basketball player – not one of these losers who end up behind bars.

Over time, though, he began to see the light.

"I'll never forget sitting in jail and I got down on my knees," he said. "I grew up in a Catholic family, but somewhere I lost my way, lost my higher power. I said, 'God, either show me a better way to live or take me the hell out of here.' At almost the same time, I got a letter from Adriana, saying, 'God never gives his soldiers battles that they can't handle; he saves his toughest battles for his warriors.' That's when I started my relationship back with Christ, and started to understand what I'd done and the damage I had caused. And I knew there was a way to recover."

Jadlow did a year in jail, then spent three months in a work-release program and three months in a halfway house, all while being under probation. He said he has been sober for three years, and now wants to dedicate all his time and efforts to speaking to groups, to schools especially, all in the hope that those kids don't make the same mistakes he did.

And yes, there's something selfish about that undertaking, too, which he acknowledges.

"It's very therapeutic for me to tell my story," he said. "I get as much out of it as they do. Talking about it keeps me on the right path. If I'm going to talk the talk, I've got to walk the walk. I don't want to be a hypocrite or a fraud.

"I hate the word relapse, man, hate it. In my mind, I still have that thought that there's nothing I can't do if I just put my mind to it. They say that on average, it takes seven rehabs before you actually get sober. But I'm not going to do it (relapse). I know how one decision to do one thing will lead to the next and the next and the next, and next thing I'll be right back to where I was and I'll lose everything."

He smiled. It was a peaceful smile.

"I'm never going back to that place."

[biteoftheapple 4,115]

I do not doubt anything Jadlow may have related in the writing of the book. But, I also do not have alot of trust in Kravitz, just sayin.

[Stuhoo 79,752]

11 minutes ago, biteoftheapple said:

I do not doubt anything Jadlow may have related in the writing of the book. But, I also do not have alot of trust in Kravitz, just sayin.

 

This piece by Kravitz is not an opinion piece, and doesn't use any unnamed sources.

Jadlow put him self out there, but whether one trusts Kravitz has very little to do with this article,

 

[hsrtxp 1,400]

Glad to see he has found his way out of that abyss.


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[Stuhoo 79,752]

 

Glad that we currently have a coach that seems to be a quality human being to his very core.

 

[Dalton26 16,892]

I'd be interested in reading it but let's not pretend that people didn't know who and how Bob Knight was. Most people only cared when he was getting close to retirement. I'd say 75% of the people that condemn him now loved him back when he was hanging banners.

[Josh 12,568]

It's not Kravitz I don't trust, it's Todd Jadlow.

We all know Bob Knight has a terrible temper that has led him into trouble. I'm sure a lot of the stories are true.

However, Jadlow isn't the most trustworthy guy. I'm sure there's truth in this book. I just don't know what percent is true and what percent is cocaine induced fantasy.

[Dalton26 16,892]

It's not Kravitz I don't trust, it's Todd Jadlow.

We all know Bob Knight has a terrible temper that has led him into trouble. I'm sure a lot of the stories are true.

However, Jadlow isn't the most trustworthy guy. I'm sure there's truth in this book. I just don't know what percent is true and what percent is cocaine induced fantasy.

That's where I'm at with it too. I believe some things he said happened but I'm sure some are exaggerated too.

[Josh 12,568]

One other thought if I may.  Players knew what they were getting into when they decided to play for Coach Knight.  It's not like he portrayed himself as a saint and then became an arsehole once they signed.

They knew he had a temper.  They knew his verbal games.  Most all of them wanted/needed it and are still happy to this day.  When one decides that he didn't like it decades later...there's some other angle.  Like trying to sell a book.

[Stuhoo 79,752]

It's not Kravitz I don't trust, it's Todd Jadlow.

We all know Bob Knight has a terrible temper that has led him into trouble. I'm sure a lot of the stories are true.

However, Jadlow isn't the most trustworthy guy. I'm sure there's truth in this book. I just don't know what percent is true and what percent is cocaine induced fantasy.

Agreed about Jadlow, but I've learned enough to also know that we don't even know a small percentage of the bad stuff RMK did.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 83,990]

First of all, regardless of the overall truth contained in his book, Todd Jadlow has truly gone through a living hell and I hope he never has to experience that again. 

Secondly, my respect for Bob Knight as a man was gone roughly 6 years before Myles Brand kicked his a$$ out of Bloomington.

As for Jadlow's book, 'sex sells' but I also believe that where there's smoke there's fire.  If the book were filled with vague generalizations it would be easy to dismiss it as mostly a work of fiction.  However, when he names specific players and the specifics of what they went through, well, that's a different story.  If those stories aren't true, all it takes is for 1 or 2 of those players to come forward and expose the book as a "cocaine induced fantasy" using Josh's description.  On the other hand, all it takes is for 1 or 2 of them to come forward and say yes, that is exactly what Bob Knight did to me.   And if the latter should happen, then even his most ardent supporters will surely recognize him for the pathetic piece of crap he is.

[Stuhoo 79,752]

One other thought if I may.  Players knew what they were getting into when they decided to play for Coach Knight.  It's not like he portrayed himself as a saint and then became an arsehole once they signed.

They knew he had a temper.  They knew his verbal games.  Most all of them wanted/needed it and are still happy to this day.  When one decides that he didn't like it decades later...there's some other angle.  Like trying to sell a book.

If true, I'm pretty sure Darryl Thomas didn't come to IU expecting THAT.

[RBB89 3,497]

It's not Kravitz I don't trust, it's Todd Jadlow.

We all know Bob Knight has a terrible temper that has led him into trouble. I'm sure a lot of the stories are true.

However, Jadlow isn't the most trustworthy guy. I'm sure there's truth in this book. I just don't know what percent is true and what percent is cocaine induced fantasy.

A. Jadlow is clean and rips on himself in this book.

B. A lot of those Knight stories have been confirmed over the years by other players. He's a jackass.

[RBB89 3,497]

If true, I'm pretty sure Darryl Thomas didn't come to IU expecting THAT.

The Daryl Thomas stuff has been out there since Season on the Brink. There's no defending that behavior from Knight.

[RBB89 3,497]

One other thought if I may.  Players knew what they were getting into when they decided to play for Coach Knight.  It's not like he portrayed himself as a saint and then became an arsehole once they signed.

They knew he had a temper.  They knew his verbal games.  Most all of them wanted/needed it and are still happy to this day.  When one decides that he didn't like it decades later...there's some other angle.  Like trying to sell a book.

I don't care what they expected, why do people excuse Knight's boorish behavior? When is that ever acceptable? Throwing tampons at players? Grabbing them by the balls? Decorating their locker with pics of female genitalia? Not to mention the legendary story of using soiled toilet paper as a "motivational tool."

[hsrtxp 1,400]

I don't care what they expected, why do people excuse Knight's boorish behavior? When is that ever acceptable? Throwing tampons at players? Grabbing them by the balls? Decorating their locker with pics of female genitalia? Not to mention the legendary story of using soiled toilet paper as a "motivational tool."

Because he won.

No it's not acceptable. Isn't now. Wasn't then. Didn't matter though. He won games, championships.

You knew what you were getting with RMK. Seems as though if you made it through you would live and die for the man. Jadlow made reference to it in the excerpt.

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[Walking Boot of Doom 18,170]

I wasn't an IU fan (too young without Indiana ties) during Knights tenure. As a third party, it always surprises me how much people defend him. He's the kind of figure I'd want to distance myself from. That old guard, "by any means necessary" type figure. It's really sad to watch, just like it's sad to watch PSU fans defend Joe Patterno.


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[WayneFleekHoosier 47,969]

I've discussed this before. I was a student when Knight got fired. It was long overdue. I absolutely hate that we had no vision or plan in place.

However, the man was from a different era. There is zero excuse for it, besides it worked for a long while.

I was a fraternity member and ABSOLUTELY hated the hazing rituals that I went through.

Yet, I look back at some of those memories and have a weird fond memory that I endured them and can retell some of those stories. It strengthened our class and increased our hatred for the upper classmen. It's a strange scenario.

I am not a Knight fan per se, or at all, yet I respect his ability to get results. He made great impact on many people's lives. Iron sharpens iron. AJ Guyton comes to mind. Many others.

This is why there is such a mixed crowd on Knight. For me personally, I am not a fan of Knight the person. This news doesn't surprise me one bit. Disgusting. But, we should remember it was a different time and he had a military background. His methods were effective.

Post Script- My final 2 sentences aren't meant to excuse his behavior but I do believe strongly times have changed and that alters everything in regards to perception. I can guarantee that he would lead the pack of people saying today's society is soft. I can appreciate that to a degree. But he clearly overstepped the bounds of tough into absurdity on a number of occasions apparently.


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[HoosierAloha 30,024]

This is tough for me. I was raised on Knight. I remember hours of watching IU basketball on my grandfathers lap as a youngster. I remember him comparing every team to IU and Knight. I was that young boy who worshipped Knight and IU players. Damon Bailey was my idol. My grandfather taught me that nothing was given in life and everything was earned. Playing basketball in college was a pipe dream for me but if I would have been able to I wouldn't have played for anyone but Knight.

I guess the structured detail oriented approach led me to the military. Like Wayne above I went through hazing that would not be acceptable to the outsiders. I've been knocked unconscious and participated in hazing/initiating that many would frown upon. In my case it was an act that you had to give absolute trust and loyalty to your brothers. If they/I couldn't make it through simple hazing how could I trust them to have my 6.

I understand some of these tactics but it's troubling to read about them. The military breaks you down to raise everyone together. Knight implemented similar tactics and it absolutely worked. As players have said once you've played for Knight hell do anything for you. This is try through my experiences with my brothers. Sometimes it's better to leave things in the past and behind the curtains. I'm in no way saying it's right but it was effective.

Kids nowadays are absolutely soft. This might be the more political correct to raise kids but you learn more about yourself and your abilities when you are pushed over the edge.

[Walking Boot of Doom 18,170]

Kids nowadays are absolutely soft. This might be the more political correct to raise kids but you learn more about yourself and your abilities when you are pushed over the edge.

I get pushing people to the edge of their physical abilities. Running sprints for hours because you played like **** makes sense. Squeezing players balls is sexual assault.

I really hate the kids nowadays are soft comments. Maybe it's true. But maybe we are creating a world where we try to lift everyone up instead of tearing them down to see how they can contribute to society. The need for the deconstruction of people through physical and emotional hardship makes sense in a militant environment where everyday could become a life or death situation and the objective of the training is to kill the enemy.

In sports that same mentality can be applied, but there are lines. RMK seemed to fail to understand where those lines were.


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