Coaches on court-storming: ‘Let’s get rid of it’
LAWRENCE, Kan. — On Monday, Jon Scheyer, Bill Self and other college
basketball leaders called for a ban on court storming in college basketball
due to safety concerns and potential legal impacts for athletes and
students.
The conversation about court storming escalated over the weekend after Duke star Kyle Filipowski was bumped by Wake Forest fans who spilled onto the floor following the Demon Deacons’ 83-79 win
over the Blue Devils on Saturday. That incident unfolded just weeks after a
fan ran into women’s basketball superstar Caitlin Clark after Iowa’s upset
loss at Ohio State.
On the ACC media teleconference call on Monday, Scheyer said the ACC should
implement a court-storming ban now and not wait to address the issue this
offseason. He said Filipowski avoided major injury during the
court-storming incident but was “a little bit sore” on Monday. Scheyer
initially said Filipowski had suffered an ankle injury. The projected
lottery pick in this summer’s NBA draft was carried off the court by his
teammates after the collision.
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Eleven conferences — the Atlantic 10, Big East, Big South, Big Ten, Big
12, Conference USA, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Pac-12, WAC, Southeastern and
West Coast — recently told ESPN that the home school for a court storm
could be subject to a fine under certain circumstances.
The ACC does not issue fines for court storming, and a person with
knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Associated Press that the
league does not intend to fine Wake Forest for Saturday’s incident.
“Absolutely we shouldn’t wait until next year, something should be done
right now,” Scheyer said during the ACC call. “At the end of the day,
players and coaches and officials are the only people that belong on a
court.”
Self said he has witnessed the safety issues firsthand during multiple
court storms after road losses throughout his career.
In 2012, Self had to help referee Darron George off the court after he
suffered a broken arm as Iowa State fans stormed the floor following an
upset over the Jayhawks. In 2015, a Kansas State fan bumped former Kansas
forward Jamari Traylor during another court storm after an upset of Kansas.
“Let’s get rid of it, totally,” Self told ESPN on Monday. “I don’t see the
positive impact from a visual standpoint. Our game has excitement and
people are excited about college basketball so much. [Court storming] isn’t
as big of a positive as a potential negative that exists with somebody
getting hurt or lawsuits. Can you imagine a kid storms the court, runs into
somebody, he gets sued and his life is changed forever? It works both ways.
Or, somebody runs into one of our players, our player [lifts their arms] to
protect themselves and catches somebody right in the Adam’s apple or hits
them in the temple and they get a concussion or something? That’s a lawsuit
against them.”
Self said he watched the video of the Wake Forest court storming on
Saturday and believed Filipowski had no opportunity to prepare for the
moment when fans ran onto the court. He described it as a dangerous
situation which the leagues could alleviate with stiffer penalties.
“What happened the other day, watching it live, it could have been a lot
worse,” Self said. “Filipowski didn’t appear to be prepared to brace
himself for it.”
Self said Kansas has “probably been stormed on about as much as anybody,”
so he now tries to prepare his players if opposing fans might run onto the
court. He said he tries to ensure his players are near the sideline as the
clock winds down in those situations. However, it’s not always possible to
create a safe scenario.
Plus, it’s not his job to keep his team safe when fans storm the court, he
said.
“The safety measures, up until recently, have been with the visiting team
educating their own players on how to handle [court storming],” Self said.
“Like calling a timeout with 15 seconds left and it’s a 10-point game, just
to get guys out of the game or whatever or tell them don’t go out there,
stand next to the sideline. Those things happen. But even with that, that
should not be the responsibility of the visiting team to educate their
guys.”
Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway said court storming had previously been a
fun moment for fans to celebrate an upset victory. In recent years,
however, the tone around court storming has changed, he said.
“I understand that that’s been a part of college basketball forever. But
now it’s starting to get a little too violent because there are so many
people getting caught in the middle,” he said on Sunday after his team’s
win over Florida Atlantic. “Usually, the students will come out and go
around the players, let the players come off the court and let security
grab them. Now, it’s like they’re trying to let the players see them or to
say something [to them]. You want the safety of the fans along with the
players. I think you should let the team exit. If you feel like you’re
going to storm the court and you’re going to allow it, you don’t do a
handshake line.”
The coaches aren’t the only ones steering the conversation. Brett Yormark,
the Big 12’s commissioner, told “Outside the Lines” on Monday that he and
the other major commissioners plan to address court storming in the near
future.
“I can tell you [Tuesday] in fact, I have a call with some of my
commissioner colleagues and we are going to address it because it’s not a
conference issue, it’s an industry issue and something that, you know, we
need to address collectively,” Yormark said on the show. “And those
conversations are being had, and formally we will have one tomorrow and
we’ll see where it takes us.”
Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne went as far as saying he thinks teams
should have to forfeit in scenarios like the Duke-Wake Forest game.
“You have two kids run out there, no, but when you have a sustained rush
like what just happened the other day at Wake, you lose the game,” Byrne
told reporters in Birmingham on Monday. “That will get people to stop.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Source: Jon Scheyer, Bill Self as well as other college basketball leaders called for a ban on court-storming in college basketball due to safety concerns and potential legal impacts for athletes and students.
