Bobby Knight Investigated by FBI for Allegations That He Groped Women at US Spy Agency

Former college basketball coach was under investigation following 2015 incident, Washington Post reports

bobby knight

Former Indiana men’s basketball coach Bobby Knight was investigated by the FBI following allegations that he groped women during a visit to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in July 2015.

The allegations were first reported by the Washington Post on Friday, which states that four women who worked at the spy agency said that Knight had groped or touched them inappropriately both before and after his speech, according to investigative documents and interviews with more than a dozen NGA officials.

The veteran coach won 902 NCAA Division I men’s college basketball games during his career but was just as infamous for his angry outbursts and violent incidents in which he choked out or punched his players.

Despite his checkered past, Knight, 76, was invited to give a lecture on leadership on July 10, 2015, during his visit to the agency at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, near Washington.

While the allegations of groping were not made public until Friday, they did lead to criminal investigations by the FBI and the U.S. Army, the Post reported. The Pentagon, Congress and other intelligence agencies in Washington were also alerted.

The alleged inappropriate behavior included claims that he touched them on the shoulder while commenting on the attractiveness of their legs, hugged them too tightly around the chest, and hit them on the buttocks.

Knight denied any wrong doing, and the federal prosecutors in Virginia decided not to bring charges in July 2016.

“There is absolutely no credible evidence to support this in our opinion, these allegations,” James Voyles, an Indianapolis lawyer who represents Knight, said, according to the Post.

The FBI agents “reported to their superiors that there was no basis for any further action, period,” the attorney added.

Following his coaching career, Knight served as a men’s college basketball studio analyst for ESPN in 2008, and again in 2014-2015.

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