BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A former assistant basketball coach at Indiana has filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages from Bob Knight and the school.
Ron Felling contends he was wrongfully fired by Knight in December 1999. Felling says he was dismissed after the former Hoosiers coach eavesdropped on a telephone call between Felling and former assistant coach Dan Dakich.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Indianapolis in U.S. District Court.
During the phone conversation, Felling and Dakich were talking about a victory against Notre Dame.
The lawsuit says Knight interrupted the conversation and told Felling he was fired. The coach overheard Felling say that Knight had been "ranting and raving to the team," and that "to me, that just takes the fun out of winning," the suit says.
Felling, who became an assistant coach at Indiana in 1985, says Knight then forced Felling to accompany him to his office. Knight then berated Felling in front of other assistants and punched him in the chest, knocking him backward into a TV.
Knight was fired by Indiana in September and has since been hired as coach at Texas Tech.
Felling's lawyer, William Potter II, said the lawsuit came after efforts to reach a settlement failed. Potter said no settlement talks were held with Knight or his representatives.
The lawsuit recounts the reports of physical and verbal abuse that led to Knight's firing, and it accuses the university of negligence in supervising him.
It also seeks damages from the university for wrongful termination and invasion of privacy.
Felling also seeks damages from Knight for violating his civil rights, assault, battery and "outrage," a claim relating to Knight's alleged intention to inflict emotional harm.
Knight could not be reached for comment Friday. The basketball department at Texas Tech said the coach is out of town until next week.
Indiana spokeswoman Susan Dillman said Friday the university had not received a copy of the lawsuit yet and would not comment until it had been reviewed.
When Felling left, it was originally announced he was leaving to pursue other interests.
"This is in no way unexpected," Knight said then. "Ron has indicated to me on several occasions in the past few years that he is interested in looking at things outside basketball. . . . Ron wanted to leave last year, but I talked him into trying it one more time to see if those feelings would change, but they haven't."