Players are being targeted and injured. Should serious measures be taken to prevent potential serious harm?
The latest call for action came from Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball coach Jon Scheyer on Saturday afternoon, after a loss at the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Scheyer saw his best player and likely NBA draft lottery pick, big man Kyle Filipowski, suffer what the coach said was a sprained ankle during a scary-fast court storming by Demon Deacons fans. (Filipowski later reportedly said it was a knee injury.) This was a completely uncontained mob running heedlessly through the players immediately after the buzzer sounded.
Filipowski believes the Wake Forest fans intentionally collided with him, according to the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer. “I absolutely feel that it was personal—intentional, for sure,” Filipowski said. “There’s no reason where they see a big guy like me trying to work my way off the court and can’t just work around me. There’s no excuse for that.”
A few weeks ago, the biggest star in college basketball, the Iowa Hawkeyes’ Caitlin Clark, had a near-full-speed collision with an oblivious fan rushing onto the court at the Ohio State Buckeyes. Clark was uninjured, but it easily could have been much worse.
The latest call for action came from Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball coach Jon Scheyer on Saturday afternoon, after a loss at the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Scheyer saw his best player and likely NBA draft lottery pick, big man Kyle Filipowski, suffer what the coach said was a sprained ankle during a scary-fast court storming by Demon Deacons fans. (Filipowski later reportedly said it was a knee injury.) This was a completely uncontained mob running heedlessly through the players immediately after the buzzer sounded.
Filipowski believes the Wake Forest fans intentionally collided with him, according to the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer. “I absolutely feel that it was personal—intentional, for sure,” Filipowski said. “There’s no reason where they see a big guy like me trying to work my way off the court and can’t just work around me. There’s no excuse for that.”
A few weeks ago, the biggest star in college basketball, the Iowa Hawkeyes’ Caitlin Clark, had a near-full-speed collision with an oblivious fan rushing onto the court at the Ohio State Buckeyes. Clark was uninjured, but it easily could have been much worse.
After Kyle Filipowski Injured in Court Storming, It’s Time to Take Action - Sports Illustrated
Half-hearted attempts to limit fans on the playing surface have not kept athletes, coaches and officials safe, so there must be stricter penalties before something more serious happens.
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