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March 16, 2000 By Dennis Dodd SportsLine.com Senior Writer |
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- There is no reason to believe former Indiana player Neil Reed was choked by Hoosier coach Bob Knight, according to a woman who alleged her son was cursed by Reed at an Indiana basketball camp.
Rebecca Lewellen of Columbus, Ind., told SportsLine.com Thursday night that Reed
should not be believed after waiting for three years to make his
allegation. In a broadcast report this week, Reed accused Knight of choking
him while he played at Indiana. Reed later transferred to Southern
Mississippi.
T O P N E W S
Lewellen's son Matthew attended an Indiana basketball camp three years ago when he was 12. In a letter dated March 24, 1997, Lewellen wrote to Knight that Reed called basketball campers "little f------ that should have their heads pinched off and flushed down a toilet."
The letter was attached to a press release handed to reporters at the NCAA Tournament East Region. In it, associate athletic director Steve Downing stated, "Neil told me, point blank, that Bob Knight never choked him."
Lewellen confirmed for SportsLine.com that she wrote the letter and that Knight called her Thursday and asked if he could use it in the press release.
Indiana athletic director Clarence Doninger said this week that the university would further investigate the choking allegation against Knight.
"First of all, I wasn't sure why Reed didn't bring all of this out when he left three years ago," Lewellen told SportsLine.com by phone from Columbus. "That's what prompted me to write the letter to begin with. He was talking about how verbally abusive Coach Knight was. I was thinking to myself how he treated my son who was 12 years old at the time. At that age they follow basketball players and to some extent idolize them."
Lewellen said she believed Reed didn't want to be at the camp that day.
"He didn't think it was worth his while," she said. "They (players) were complaining they had to be there to begin with."
Matthew is now 15 and in high school. Lewellen counts herself among Indiana fans, the majority of which, she said, still support Knight.
"I believe they do," Lewellen said. "I'm not one to jump to conclusions. I like to hear both sides of the story. But I have a hard time believing anything Neil Reed says after the way he treated my son."