Knight Kicks Son Off Team : Indiana: Sophomore Patrick Knight was arrested for public intoxication.

Indiana Coach Bob Knight has kicked his son off the team after the younger Knight’s arrest for public intoxication and disorderly conduct.

Patrick Knight, 21, was arrested early Wednesday outside a downtown bar after he allegedly swore at a police officer.

He was the only Indiana player who did not appear at an autograph and photo session at Assembly Hall on Thursday, scheduled in place of the traditional basketball banquet that was abruptly canceled by his father last month.

None of Knight’s former teammates, including his roommate Pat Graham, would talk about his arrest or dismissal. But many among the more than 1,000 fans who waited in line for hours to meet their favorite Indiana players said they were not surprised at the dismissal.

“Everybody has to follow the rules. Coach Knight believes in discipline,” said Jack Miller, 39, of Corydon, Ind.

Steve Barker, 19, a freshman, said, “There’s usually not any trouble with the IU program like that.” He said the punishment was not too harsh and that he wasn’t surprised Knight dismissed his son.

Mona Gibson, 38, of Bloomington, agreed. “I always figured that Knight would treat them equally,” she said.

Jeff Buckner, who was selling programs during the photo session, said, “Knight is God around here. And people aren’t going to say a whole lot about his son.”

Knight, a sophomore, was redshirted this past season.

The elder Knight kicked his son off the team Wednesday night and was out of town Thursday to recruit, sports information spokesman Gregg Elkin said.

The younger Knight appeared in court Wednesday for a pretrial hearing but was released after applying for a diversion program. That program routinely allows individuals with no arrest records to meet certain probation-like conditions in exchange for charges being dropped.

According to police records, when Knight was arrested outside Kilroy’s Sports Bar, he appeared “extremely intoxicated, could barely stand up on his own and had a very strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath, as well as slurred speech.”

Elkin said the university planned no other disciplinary action against Knight, who scored 39 points last year as a freshman.

It wasn’t the first time Knight had ejected a player from his team. Knight suspended five players and kicked three off the 1977-78 team after he walked in on a party where marijuana was being smoked.