Bernard King alleges racist clashes with cops in '70s

BERNARD KING says he dealt with racism off the court that included clashes with police while starring for Tennessee in the 1970s.

In an ESPN "30 for 30" documentary airing today, King said that former Volunteers coach Ray Mears warned him that he'd heard some local officers would "do anything to get him."

King, the first former Tennessee player inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, cites one incident in which he says an officer hit him in the head with the butt of his gun while responding to a loitering report. The documentary, "Bernie and Ernie," focuses on the friendship of King and ex-college teammate Ernie Grunfeld.

King played for Tennessee from 1974-77 after arriving from Brooklyn, N.Y. He said he had never talked about the racism he encountered during his college years with anyone but his family before discussing the issue in the film.

"I just felt compelled at this time in my life to talk about those things because for many years you carry that around," King said. "It was very important for me to share that."

The 14-year NBA veteran stressed that he has "no bitterness whatsoever" toward his alma mater.

In other college news:

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* Arizona State football coach Todd Graham appeared to still be a bit shaken after a plane he was riding in with his son Bo, the team's running-backs coach, during a recruiting trip over the weekend plummeted about 25,000 feet before leveling off at around 10,000 feet and making an emergency landing in Albuquerque, N.M. "It was really kind of surreal," Graham said. "It was very, very scary."

* Virginia Tech suspended forward C.J. Barksdale for the first three games of the season.

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* A day after goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was briefly knocked unconscious but continued to play, Tottenham defended its decision despite criticism from FIFA and the soccer players union. Lloris was knocked out Sunday when his head smashed into a knee of Everton forward Romelu Lukaku during a Premier League match. The goalkeeper was treated on the field but was allowed to keep playing despite medical advice against it. Lloris could not remember the incident. Yesterday, Tottenham said that brain scans gave Lloris an all-clear.

* The cable networks CNBC, MSNBC and USA will offer 124 hours of coverage during the Winter Olympics in Russia this February. CNBC will concentrate on curling, showing the Olympics primarily from 5-8 p.m. USA will present hockey with some curling during daytime hours in the United States. MSNBC will also show hockey and curling. NBC has not announced its schedule for the broadcast network or the NBC Sports cable network, but has said it will live stream all Olympic events on its Olympics website.

* Power failures are hampering luge training for U.S. and international teams at the Sochi track, where dozens of sliders this week are preparing for the Winter Olympics.

* Juan Martin del Potro got past Richard Gasquet to win his opening round-robin match in Group B at the ATP World Tour Finals in London. Stanislas Wawrinka also grabbed the spotlight with a Group A win over Tomas Berdych in his maiden appearance at the season-ending tournament. Also in Group B, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will face today. Group A also includes Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer.