Indiana coach Bob Knight declined to apologize Saturday for a joke he shared with players who bought him a bullwhip, but did take a swat with a towel from the player he had feigned whipping.
Local black leaders had asked for an apology after Knight was photographed pretending to whip forward Calbert Cheaney on Wednesday. Cheaney is black."What I should apologize for is, I think, 18 black kids having played four years for me, with 15 of them having (college) degrees," Knight said Saturday.
Knight had jokingly called the bullwhip a "motivational device."
But a newspaper photograph of him tapping Cheaney's backside brought in about 150 telephone complaints Friday, said Alice Hoppes, president of the Albuquerque chapter of the NAACP.
"This issue is about sensitivity and racism," NAACP branch vice president Ron Hinson said.
Cheaney said he and teammates had bought the whip for Knight as a gag.
And Cheaney on Saturday turned the tables on Knight and swatted him with a towel along the sidelines at the Pit.
Knight concluded his remarks Saturday on the incident by asking: "Does anyone have any questions about the game?"