In wake of Duke forward Kyle Filipowski being injured by Wake Forest fans via court-storming following the Blue Devils (83-79) loss to the Demon Deacons, a ton of reactions have followed.
There was a swelling sentiment against college fans storming the court after a win, because for years the threat of a player getting hurt in a melee was a real possibility.
Duke Player Isn’t Seriously Injured
Although, Filipowski’s injury isn’t severe — per reports on Monday he was just a “little bit sore” — it could’ve been much, much worse, and that’s the problem. For years court-storming was glorified, and former ESPN employee Dan Patrick mentioned that during his show on Monday.
In so many words, Patrick says ESPN played a huge role in why court storming has become a thing. That’s fine and dandy, but current ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas isn’t for the risky move, and he wants some real consequences to be handed down for schools that allow it.
Bilas Says Arrest The Court Stormers
Filipowski’s injury was the talk of the weekend, and Bilas, also a former “Dookie,” believes the NCAA needs to step up its punishment in wake of court storming. Schools have been seemingly willing to pay the hefty fine which ranges from $100K — $500K that comes with it, depending on the offense. For Bilas that isn’t enough, as he explained during Monday’s episode of “First Take.”
“The truth is nothing’s going to change now,” Bilas groused. “We’re going to talk about it. It’s going to go away and nothing’s going to change. And if they wanted to stop it, they could stop it tomorrow. The administrators will tell you the security experts tell them that it’s not a good idea to stop court storming, because that could cause more problems than it would solve.”
“But you don’t have to stop the court-storming. One time, all you have to do is, once they’re on the court, don’t let them off,” he suggested. “Just say, ‘You’re all detained,’ and give them all citations, or arrest them if you want to. And then court storming will stop the next day.”
Bilas Is 100 Percent Correct, It Needs To Stop
Bilas mentioned how the media seemed to be OK with seeing it. The former Blue Devils big man who led them to the 1986 national championship game definitely has a point.
While it’s highly unlikely his method will happen, something needs to be done to discourage schools from allowing it to happen, because the fines obviously haven’t been a big enough deterrent.
Watching students storm the floor following a huge upset has become a part of the college life and experience, but it isn’t safe.
Hearing Bilas say lock everyone up is way over the top, but you have to remember he’s long been against court storming, so this incident just seemed to really grind his gears.
In the end, what he’s saying is definitely correct, but until the NCAA and schools themselves come up with even harsher penalties, seeing rabid 18- to 22-year-olds running onto the floor screaming and yelling in jubilation following a huge win is here to stay.
