MATT KNOLL
Baylor Men's Tennis Coach
April 12, 2011
IRVING, Texas - Big 12 Conference commissioner Dan Beebe announced today the suspension of Baylor men's tennis coach Matt Knoll from the Bears' April 15 match vs. Oklahoma for violation of the Conference's Sportsmanship Policy. During Baylor's April 6 match at Texas, Knoll directed a vulgar comment toward an opposing player, and then initially denied his actions to university and Conference officials."Coach Knoll's conduct toward an opposing student-athlete, along with his initial denial about the matter, are inexcusable and will not be tolerated," said Beebe. "The suspension would have been for more matches if Coach Knoll had not admitted his mistake and expressed remorse for his conduct. I appreciate the cooperation by Ian McCaw, director of athletics, and others at the institution in addressing this matter, and Baylor's continued commitment to follow Conference rules."
77 comments:
Is it true that the mother of one of the ball boys was standing up at the end of the match screaming at Kellen D'Amico about his vulgar and abusive language? If so, why wasn't he coded for doing so? If a ball boy or girl can hear it then it should be coded.
I was sitting in the stands and personally heard D'Amico call Matt Knoll and John Peers "fucking cheats." Why did the chair official do nothing and then have this happen to Coach Knoll?
The Big 12 lets Texas and their players get away with everything and then comes up with a penalty like this. Fair is fair so they should get their heads out of their burnt orange you know what's.
I have never met so many back stabbing two faced officials in my whole entire life as I have in Texas. The head of all officials and her followers hate Baylor and will do anything she can within her power to take them down. What goes around comes around.
This is just a big LOL!!!
Did the Chair Umpire or Referee hear the remarks Coach Knoll has now admitted he made to the opposing player? If so, was Coach Knoll penalized by the Chair umpire for his remarks? If the official(s) heard the remark and did nothing, why was there no action taken on their part? Has Baylor added additional penalty to the coach's suspension? Afterall, his admitted remarks are not what one would expect from a representative of a fine, upstanding, Baptist University such as Baylor. Did the Officials in the match have any part in the Conference's investigation into this matter? If yes, that presents another blog topic opportunity for Randy.
And on another subject, there's no need for the printing of obscenities or vulgarities on this blog site. How about this ref the language printed here.....if it would deserve a code violation on the court, it doesn't get printed on the blog? BTW, one may accomplish the same sentiment with the use of *** to replace letters that most folks find offensive here on the blog.
I witnessed Kellen call
Matt and his player, Peers, f....ing cheaters and said "f... you " to Matt Knoll twice during the match and the CHAIR umpire totally ignored that provocation.
Yes, Coaches must have exemplary behaviour at all times but the players are also bound to good sportsmanship and no action was taken against the player...Why?
This incident clearly reeks of bias toward Baylor by Conference officials as I have heard far worse from other Coaches disparaging officials and nothing is done unless it is a Baylor Coach!
Tattle tale so why not tattle on the opposing player, too?
The ball kids heard Knoll drop the f-bomb, not Damico. No one is going to argue that Damico is a saint, but this is about a head coach.
Anyone defending Knoll's actions is an idiot. A coach can never cross that line (even if someone said something to him). Then for him to deny it ever happened shows what lengths he is willing to go to lie.
Baylor, its coaching staff, administration and fans,all contribute to create the worst tennis atmosphere, regardless of where they play (home or away). It is a tennis match and their behavior has been on record as the worst in the Big 12 for years.
Hopefully Coach Knoll will learn from this and the Baylor administration takes action to educate their fan base (and players) on what is acceptable.
On a side note, I'd love to see the Big 12 adopt a rule that the trainers must stay in the play area. Baylor calls so many bs medical timeouts and their trainer hides in the stands stalling...
Big 12's should be interesting, that's for sure.
I have known Matt since he took over as the coach at Baylor. He is always a gentleman, if he acted in such a manner, there had to be a reaon. What were the officials doing?
Bernie West
The mother in the stands was not addressing her comments to Coach Knoll. She was very specific in directing them to D'Amico and rightfully so. Anyone who ever watches him play knows what filth he spews out on a regular basis.
The Texas player was cursing nonstop during the match and the crowd heard it, yet nothing was done so the Baylor Coach now takes the rap.
There must be a hidden agenda by
the Big 12 against Baylor to make a huge issue of a "bad word" spoken by a Coach after the player took the
first punch.
Such a double standard - how many basketball/football coaches have you seen drop the fbomb on TV or during a game yelling at players and umpires and nobody so much as blinks an eye.
Baylor Players and Employees will never be treated the same by the other schools because the other people are not the same class of people...
Why is this a big surprise? Knoll talks like this to his players all the time on changeovers and after matches. His mistake was addressing an opposing player this way. And Haymuncher wasn't around to cover it up this time.
This doesn't sound like the Big 12 Tennis Commissioner had the "A" squad of officials assigned to this match. How did the situation get this out of control right under the officials' nose? Whenever you have Baylor, Texas, & Texas A&M playing each other; Look Out!! Things happen!!
I will say that if we coded every coach for every curse word they exchange when they're talking with their players we would never stop coding.
Why didn't the Big 12 Commissioner suspend the Texas player and the chair official as well as the coach?
What is Beebe going to do the next time Roddick or Wadley screams out their usual profanity laced comments? Probably nothing since they don't win and Baylor does.
Hey Bevo Boy - No-one is perfect and we all make mistakes and have to pay the price but before you judge take a moment and listen to the UT WTennis athletes talk to their coaches. The only one I have seen show respect is their #1 singles player, the rest have spewed words I hope my children never say.
Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
Well, that list certainly wasn't the "A" squad. No doubt they will all be at the Conference Tournament as well.
The officials for that match were:
Rick Moench (referee)
Randall Edwards
Glen Whitaker
Kevin Foster
Randy McDonald
Vickie Wright
Maybe it would be good to actually have Beebe come to a Texas match and watch their players in action. There would be a bunch more suspensions I imagine.
Too bad they didn't have the famous official from College Station on that match. The Texas player can do absolutely anything he wants to do when she is in the chair and nothing is ever done. At least she won't be at the Big 12 tournament to coddle him.
It couldn't happen to a nicer guy. What ever happened to the investigation into Baylor's recruiting of supposed "amateurs" from Europe. The Big XII ought to take a look at that also.
I wish you'd post what actually happened on the court for those of us who weren't there. Was it doubles or singles? Was it on Damico's match or are we talking about more than one match?
Was that one of the matches that JR was replaced on?? Is that why he wasn't on that big-game match?
Let's just hope Texas will play Baylor again this year
Good for the Big 12 Commisioner!! It has always amazed me the abuse that these coaches hand out, not only to the players but to the Chair Officials as well, all in the so called name to "Fire Up" their players? They are out of control!!! Read the ITA rules when it comes to the Coaches behavior? It is suppose to be exemplary? Tell me a work enviroment in the United States where this type of abuse is allowed? They would be brought up on charges and terminated from any company!! But yet when you are "self policed" so to speak any thing goes I guess? The Athletic Directors NEED to step up and address this NOW.
The NCAA clears all players before theyre allowed to play.
Outrageous action by Big 12. Coaches/ players say bad words all the time on Court. The Texas players go up against the WALL and the crowd hears every imaginable curse word.
There must be more to this story
than a spoken bad word at the end of a match that Baylor won.
What is the real hidden agenda by the umpire?
They suspended our Coach because we beat UT in Austin.
Who cares over something so silly.
Baylor GREEN and burned Orange.
I predict this topic will set a new record for comments, breaking the old record just set on the Ball Sorter Champ topic.
It is amazing the Baylorites still defend Knoll on this. Saying the f-bomb is bad and as a general rule you shouldn't be saying it to your own players, but as we all know, that happens in every sport. But it is in the leagues' rules (and general common sense) that you cannot direct such profanity at an opposing player. That is a completely different subject. If a basketball coach did that, they would be suspended even longer.
What is completely amazing is the news that he tried to still lie about it. The guy is a stone-faced liar. When he realized they were going to throw the book at him, he acquiesced.
Just face it, BU leads the league in stalling, cheating, medical timeouts, stealing players from other schools and illegal transcripts. I feel sorry for Joey, who gets heaped into the Baylor hate from other schools.
It is a shame they are not a public school. I'd love to see a FOI request into their e-mails, transcripts and scholarships.
On a side note, the officials in the Big 12 are not very good. Yes, there are good officials, but unfortunately many of them are idiots. They are scared to code anyone. I actually heard a coach wondering why their own player WASN'T coded this week for throwing a racquet. I would love to rest the blame on CJ, since she is about 15 years past her prime, but that would be too easy.
Having the Big 12's in Waco could be a f---ing disaster... go ahead, code me, be-otch!
The Poor poor boys from Texas University just don't know any better..
You can't Expect them to have manners and Talent...
Our famous official from College Station doesn't play well with the other kids, thus the reason why she isn't working the Big 12 tournament. Last year was a total fiasco with her there. Everybody was walking on eggshells around her. Maybe this will make her wise up and smell the coffee and either change her attitude, or drop out of officiating.
It's apparent you haven't listened to most head football coaches' conversations with the sideline officials. They are much worse.
Since you asked...
The incident happened on court #1 in the singles match between John Peers of Baylor and Kellen D'Amico of Texas. After the match Coach Knoll supposedly said "f___ you" to D'Amico and it was for this indiscretion that he was suspended. It was also on this court that D'Amico supposedly called Coach Knoll and John Peers "f____ing cheats." This court was also the scene of a mother of one of the ball boys castigating D'Amico for his vile language during the match in earshot of her son.
Hopefully this will help you understand the scenario.
My question is why does the Big 12 commissioner permit coaches such as Roddick and Wadley regularly berate and swear at chair officials and do nothing. I guess they consider a swear word at a player more important than a swear word at an official.
Something is sure wrong in this type of reasoning.
I hope the officials at the Baylor-Oklahoma match on Friday are listening to every word uttered by all the coaches. If a code had been given to Coach Knoll this whole thing would have been a non-issue. Officials need to step up and do their job.
I am surprised that Damico's comments did not lead into a code since he was constantly dropping the f bomb at peers, the crowd, and at Knoll. I am not surprised however about his abusive language. I have seen his mother at the NCAA's in Georgia last year yell against Baylor girls, " Let's go pretty girls, take out the ugly girls". His parents and their folks were also dropping comments against the European origin of some of the Baylor girls. Interesting because the Texas team has European players, too. "Let's go USA"...
Funny because the Texas girls like to tell the crowds to f off a lot too. Seems to be common at UT. It is ridiculous that this whole incident was started by Damico's behavior and language and now the Baylor coach looks like the bad guy and Damico like the victim.
Basketball/football college coaches get suspended for violating NCAA rules
and tennis coaches get suspended for
saying a curse word.
The Commissioner must be kidding.
Please tell us what this is really about. WE CAN HANDLE THE TRUTH!
I have heard Coach Center of UT also say curse words on the court but no umpire tattles. Ditto for almost every coach in the Big XII from time to time under stress.
Someone please tell us what this is
really about.
Maybe censored but suspended??
Which official lost control of the No. 1 match which is on the score board side of the stadium?
CANNOT WAIT FOR THE A&M v BAYLOR MATCH THIS WEDNESDAY!
We all know coaches will sometimes use vulgar and abusive language directed at their own players. In these situations, it is normally overlooked as long as the chair umpire is convinced the spectators cannot hear what is being said.
Coach Knoll stepped over the line and used foul language directed at an opposing player, which should always be penalized. The bottom line in this situation is he originally denied his actions, but later recanted when faced with unsurmountable evidence contrary to his "memory of what happened" from eyewitnesses in direct observation.
Yes, Damico should have also been penalized for his actions as has been the case in previous incidents.
There are a lot of dynamics going on during the course of a match. Each chair umpire must use their experience and sense to where the match is headed before taking action. This has been a learning experience which is always helpful for the rest of us, so that we can ensure consistency in the future.
As A&M fans would say to Coach Knoll after one of their players has been cheated by a Baylor player - "SIT DOWN BUS DRIVER". Now Coach Knoll has time to go to his nearest DPS office on Friday, pass a commercial driving test and obtain his Class C drivers license so he can become a real bus driver. This will probably look good on his expanding resume of accomplishments.
The question I have is... "What would Sara have done?" Based on her past performance from the infamous spitting incident at A&M a couple of years back, fireworks would have really been flying.
Sara is infamous for never coding Kellen D'Amico no matter what he does. She has some kind of mother complex with him.
And the A&M coordinator of officials is working the A&M vs Baylor match - wow! Should be interesting
Matt Knoll:
° 2004 NCAA National Champs
° 2 NCAA Singles Champs
° 3 Time National Coach of The Year
° First Big 12 Tennis Coach To Be Suspended
PRICELESS!!!!!!
This is a VERY GOOD reason to have a seventh official. A good referee would of been there and handled the situation... in this case the referee was on a court. Here is an idea - use the other officials that are done. I saw three officials just standing there! And two of those could of helped! Sad - when you have such a good team match spoided by bad sportsmanship. History or no history!
I think it would be a good idea to tape the matches with a cell phone or whatever...lets see how the Texas Coaches and Players really act and put them on You Tube...Why are they not held to the same rules as Baylor...Texas Coaches don't tell them to be quiet and not act this or that way ...they represent their school in Fine fashion don't they...This is who you want your children to go and watch play....think I'll take my cell phone and catch them in ACTION let the World see how they Act...
Can't wait for A&M v. Baylor to see if the umpire assignments continue
to reflect the Big XII Coordinator's bias against certain universities.
Why are there posts pertaining to Sara? She did not work this match but I bet she will be working A&M v. Baylor...as coordinator of A&M officials. How neutral is that?
Perceived bias..Big XII Conference officials don't care...
Yea We know Texas Does not cheat on anything... And we know how many players they Graduate.....Some of the Team can actually spell Foooball i play foooball at texas!!!
I do not Excuse Knoll for what he did..if you break the law pay the fine.. but .If one of my Children were Ball Kids and Coach Centers did nothing about His Player or Players Cursing the Way they do... I would walk out on the Court and take my child off and tell Centers what a Piece of Cr*p he is in Front of Everyone ... He or His University are not held to any Values by the Big Twelve...Just some Bull Shi*t staight out of Bevo's pen..and they call him a Coach...
Enough with the chatter about who the official was on this line 1 singles match and enough about Sara. We should all look in our own backyards FIRST and quit putting down our own fellow officials, who need and deserve our support. We get enough criticism and bad press from everyone else out there. We should be supporting each other instead of looking to find out WHO the official was. We who have chaired Damico's matches know he is a tough one to handle. There was indeed a very strong and respected official in the chair as far as I'm concerned.
Coach Center's behavior in the last several years has been nothing short of exemplary.
I have officiated many many Baylor and Texas matches over the years and can assure you that the Baylor players have always behaved like gentlemen (although lively) and the Texas players have not.
The accepted wisdom is that a team will take on the personality of their coach. Wonder what that means here?
Putting the A&M coordinator on the A&M-Baylor match is a disgrace to the leadership of the Big 12. They don't even try to appear neutral when it comes to Baylor and all officials know it. Maybe the commissioner should investigate some of this year's assignments.
Cool Idea Lets the Coaches Wife and Kids , and the Players Parents see what their Pride and Joy Sons & Daughters act like ...let the whole world see and hear..we can even see which officials are doing theMatch....for REAL
Re: Current Subject. How about fact that BAylor - Texas a&M match have TExas A&m Alumni as match Refereee.
Just because you are a coordinator for a school does not mean you are biased towards that school, unless of course you are talking about Tulsa. That my friends - is a totally different ball game.
In my experience (again Tulsa not being in the mix), the coordinator of officials for a particular school is more biased against their home school just to offset the perceived level of home cooking.
I would put SL in there with PJ.
It's so nice to see everybody else bashing my most favorite official in the whole wide world. I can only hope that one day she will be cast out and banished from working tennis events where other humans are involved. Personally, I haven't seen her in a couple of years which is a great thing. My blood pressure and stress levels have significantly depreciated since then. I like the fact that she isn't working the Big 12 Conference Championships. That will stick in her crowl for a long long long time, just like the cotton in my animated character's stuffing.
Lets talk about something else... Are all Officials at least ex College or Tournament players? Tennis Coaches? If they are 3.5 ladies or men - how will they EVER know what is going on in our kids minds... they never saw the ball as a player at that speed - it is silly to think they can see it better than the players.
Donkey/JackAss: You have missed her that long and you STILL talk/think about her - Maybe, Bob should be worried!?
I have it on good authority that the diva from CS will only be working on Friday at the Big 12 tournament. Maybe Eeyore can come and take her to lunch.
6:45 Post...
NO most are NOT former tennis player's, college players or even better than a 3.5 level USTA player. SAD! There are 'some' qualified at this high level...most are not. Guess we will see this next Wednesday! I plan to be recording this one!
Who highers these people - how does this system work? Seems like you want the best you can get. This is going to sound weird - but, maybe the coaches can evaluate. They for sure know who is not fit for the job.
BTW - if there were matches still on during the UT/Baylor word-fest, shouldn't the reemaining match(es) have been penalized?
I was at the match and I watched the whole thing. The players and the Baylkor coach were near the bench - I never heard Kellen or Knoll say a cuss word. I would guess only the official heard it?
The officials for Big 12 matches are hired solely by Cheryl Jones. After each match the referee evaluates each of the officials and the coaches evaluate the officials too. There is a good system in place but sometimes things just happen that blow up out of proportion.
I too was at the match and I heard numerous obscenities come from D'Amico but I wasn't close enough to actually hear Coach Knoll actually say anything. That obscenity was reported by the chair umpire.
This penalty seemd a little lite.
1. The coach did what he did.....that should be 1 penalty.
2. The coach (did) initially lied and said he didn't do it.....that should be 1 additional penalty.
Coaches should be held to a higher standard than the players.
It looks like any player penalty was overlooked by the chair official.
I would say the Bears recovered nicely with their victory over Oklahoma. A&M is next.
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