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Peter Attia MD#142- Robert Abbott: The Bobby Knight story—the cost of unchecked anger, ego, & winning at all costs
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Episode Details
EPISODE INFO
- Released
- December 21, 2020
- Duration
- 2h 14m
- Channel
- Peter Attia MD
- Watch on YouTube
- ▶ Open ↗
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
Robert Abbott is a six-time Emmy award winner and the director of “The Last Days of Knight,” the behind-the-scenes documentary of legendary coach Bobby Knight, and the events that led to his termination from Indiana University. In this episode, Robert takes us through his investigative journey, which revealed cautionary tales of a winning at all costs environment—how pain often gets left in the wake of unchecked anger, ego, and perfectionism. Robert reflects on Knight’s legacy and extracts lessons in self-awareness and accountability that can be applied to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself. We discuss: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:30 - Robert’s career covering sports and interesting athletes 00:10:15 - Robert’s early impression of Bobby Knight’s controversial persona 00:13:30 - The journalistic work that uniquely prepared Robert for his Bobby Knight story 00:19:15 - The cost of excellence in sports—cautionary tales of ‘greatness at any cost’ 00:25:30 - Knight’s coaching style, waning success in the 90s, and what put him on Robert’s radar 00:35:15 - Three alarming accounts from a former player (Neil Reed) that launched Robert’s investigation into Bobby Knight 00:44:45 - The “win-first” environment at Indiana that provided cover for Knight’s toxic behavior 00:53:00 - Knight’s ego swells—a shift from team-first to “I” and “me” 01:01:30 - How patience, honesty, and gaining trust with his sources paid off in his reporting on Bobby Knight 01:08:00 - The vicious cycle and anger and shame, and why Bobby Knight is so interesting to Peter 01:20:00 - Releasing the choking tape—Breaking open the Knight story, vindicating his earlier reporting, and the most powerful moment Robert has ever witnessed in his journalistic career 01:43:15 - The bittersweet story of Neil Reed—triumph, PTSD, and breaking the cycle of pain 01:57:30 - Examining Bobby Knight's legacy, and how society can avoid a repeat of similar devastating situations 02:08:00 - Final thoughts on Bobby Knight and the pain left in his wake Show notes page: https://peterattiamd.com/robertabbott/ About: The Peter Attia Drive is a weekly, ultra-deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing health, longevity, critical thinking…and a few other things. With over 30 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including fasting, ketosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more. Peter is a physician focusing on the applied science of longevity. His practice deals extensively with nutritional interventions, exercise physiology, sleep physiology, emotional and mental health, and pharmacology to increase lifespan (delay the onset of chronic disease), while simultaneously improving healthspan (quality of life). Learn more: https://peterattiamd.com/ Subscribe to receive exclusive subscriber-only content: https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/ Sign up to receive Peter's email newsletter: https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter/ Connect with Peter on: Facebook: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDFB Twitter: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDTW Instagram: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDIG Subscribe to The Drive: Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/TheDriveApplePodcasts Overcast: http://bit.ly/TheDriveOvercast Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheDriveSpotify Google Play: http://bit.ly/TheDriveGooglePlay
SPEAKERS
Peter Attia
hostPhysician and host of The Drive podcast.
Robert Abbott
guestSports journalist and documentary/feature producer known for reporting on Bobby Knight and related investigations.
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Peter Attia MD, featuring Peter Attia and Robert Abbott, #142- Robert Abbott: The Bobby Knight story—the cost of unchecked anger, ego, & winning at all costs explores journalist Robert Abbott Recounts Exposing Bobby Knight's Abuse and Neil Reed's Story Robert Abbott describes how an assignment he expected to be a story about entitled recruits became an investigation after former player Neil Reed told him three specific incidents involving Knight.
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