FBI investigated coach Bobby Knight for allegedly groping women employees at a U.S. spy agency

The FBI investigated complaints that the basketball coach inappropriately touched women who worked at the agency

Published July 8, 2017 2:08PM (EDT)

 (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
(AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

Two years ago, legendary basketball coach Bobby Knight spoke at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. The FBI and U.S. Army ended up investigating this appearance after four women reported that their guest speaker inappropriately groped them, The Washington Post reported Friday.

The allegations had not been previously revealed to the public.

According to The Washington Post:

The women accused Knight of a range of boorish behavior: from touching them on the shoulder while commenting on the attractiveness of their legs, to hugging them too tightly around the chest, to hitting them on the buttocks, according to documents compiled by investigators and Washington Post interviews with three of the women.

The criminal investigations into Knight lasted for a year. While Knight was not charged with any crime, the damage from his visit still haunts the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a spy agency under the Defense Department that employs about 14,500 people.

One of Knight's accusers filed a sex and race discrimination complaint with the Defense Department against the NGA, alleging that her employer punished her for complaining about Knight by denying her a promotion. Her case is currently pending, according to The Post.

Knight's attorney, James Voyles, denied his client did anything wrong.

“There is absolutely no credible evidence to support this in our opinion, these allegations,” Voyles told The Post. He said that the FBI agents who investigated the case “reported to their superiors that there was no basis for any further action, period.”

Knight, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991, acted as a surrogate for the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential elections.


By Taylor Link

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Basketball Bobby Knight Fbi National Geospatial-intelligence Agency Sexual Assault