Puerto Rico’s Justice Dept. is studying the...

Puerto Rico’s Justice Dept. is studying the possibility of extraditing Indiana basketball Coach Bob Knight over an altercation with a policeman that dates back to the Pan American Games in San Juan in 1979.

Once the study is completed, Gov. Rafael Hernandez Colon will make a decision about Knight, who was sentenced in San Juan District Court to serve a six-month jail sentence for striking a policeman during the Games.

The study was requested by Colon after a U.S. Supreme Court decision on June 23 overturned a 126-year-old ruling and allowed federal courts to force states to extradite fugitives to other states.

Former Gov. Carlos Romero Barcelo, who was in office when the incident occurred, opposed the move to extradite Knight. “The case is dead and finished,” he said.

Another official feared that an extradition of Knight could have negative repercussions. German Rieckehoff Sampayo, Puerto Rico’s Olympic Committee president, said he feared a negative reception in Indiana for the more than 200 island athletes planning to participate in the Pan American Games scheduled to start Aug. 8 in Indianapolis.