Frank Deford, a public intellectual

Frank Deford's a great model to follow as a journalist. He's a sportswriter, but he doesn't fit within the confines commonly imposed on the sportswriting field. He's a college professor, radio commentator and novelist, too, but he doesn't fit within those constraints either.

So what is Frank Deford?

A public intellectual. He fulfills all of those aforementioned occupations' guidelines but serves a greater purpose to the general public as a whole, providing topics of discussion that help us determine a moral compass, help us learn about what's right and what's wrong with the fields that he works in and help us generate interesting, worthwhile topics of conversation for the long term.

Example: Thirty years ago, in January 1981, Deford published in Sports Illustrated a profile of Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight, covering his outrageous antics off the court and forcing people nationwide to examine their priorities: work or the rest of your life.

For a little background, Knight is one of the most known coaches of all time, in any sport. He was an incredible motivator and superb X's & O's guy, but he always struggled with his temper and thus had many, many players transfer away from his program over the years. Still, Knight won, and won consistently. He won three national titles -- including one in in 1981 -- an Olympic gold medal and a host of Big Ten conference championships.

Knight, Deford wrote, had chose work and the rest of his life suffered. He didn't come right out and say it in the piece, but Deford implied that Knight had an ounce of regret -- maybe more -- deep inside for his decision and recommended others choose the opposite style of life.

"The rabbit hunter," the piece was titled. Knight stalked the insignificant off the court, Deford wrote -- sort of similar to what he did on the court, actually.

The piece was named one of the Top 25 sportswriting pieces of the 20th century by legendary sportswriter/intellectual David Halberstam, but it also gained recognition in a variety of other manners for the fair, unbiased way it took a look at a not-so-pressing issue and made it into something Americans cared about.

Deford's story made Knight into the figure that he became and still is today, and he did it with grace and smarts. For that, he's worthy of commending and worthy of placement in the pantheon of public intellectuals.