Storming the court

[martinsm30]

I am a lawyer and the Duke player has a much better case. The students are trespassing on the court. Your ticket authorizes you to be in certain areas of the arena, and the court is not one of them. They get what they deserve. That kid and every player has to be extremely cautious to protect their health. When an opposing fan base rushes the floor and you and your teammates are there, you should knock the shit out of anyone that gets close to you just to ensure you get to the locker room. People have been complaining in this thread about the UK/IU game. That should make it obvious to people that students storming the court is not a joke. These kids' potential future earnings are at risk and that should not be jeopardized by some college kids that are likely drunk happy that their school finally beat a good team decides to become a mob and potentially hurts someone.

Yes, the 15 basketball players should escalate a situation where they are exposed to possibly 2000 fans. That is the way to go... Legally the player may get away with it, but the outcome may be very bad for everyone. There can be very bad people in that crowd. If I am a ball player, I keep my hands to myself and slide my way off the court unless someone assaults me. Ignore them all and look for security.

It is up to schools and conferences to see to the safety of the players. Wouldn't the player have a great case against those entities when there is a responsibility of care?

 

[TankedCat]

Hey everybody, don't storm the court and be somewhere you don't belong. I'd say the same about a player going into the stands where they don't belong. It's that simple to me.

except there is no desire to stop court storming, or field storming , its a college tradition that raises the excitement of the sport, its been going on for decades and there is an expectation from the fans AND the players that it will happen in a major upset victory. Universities give tacet approval for it by not taking additional steps to insure it doesn't happen.

Whenever the rare instances of a player going into the stands has happened, without exception there has been harsh penalties and universal condemnation.

 

[cat_in_the_hat]

This has already been said but the easiest way to handle it is to take away the victory and award it to the visiting team. If it’s an automatic loss, I doubt fans will be excited about storming a court or field.

 

[Ugoff]

Anyone remember this? Don't recall any hand wringing from Jay or Seth.....

 

[STL_Cat]

Anyone remember this? Don't recall any hand wringing from Jay or Seth.....

I mentioned this earlier, and I already knew people were going to be saying “of course Bilas says it now it’s a Duke player!”

But the truth is, if you’ve been paying attention Jay Bilas has been the loudest proponent I’ve heard in the media for stopping court storming because it’s dangerous. It’s dangerous for the fans and it’s dangerous for the players. The fans don’t belong on the court, and the players don’t belong in the stands.

He had a pretty long rant on college gameday about it a month ago. Hes been saying it for a long time. But I knew he’d be accused of just now saying something about it after this one.

 

[Ugoff]

I mentioned this earlier, and I already knew people were going to be saying “of course Bilas says it now it’s a Duke player!”

But the truth is, if you’ve been paying attention Jay Bilas has been the loudest proponent I’ve heard in the media for stopping court storming because it’s dangerous. It’s dangerous for the fans and it’s dangerous for the players. The fans don’t belong on the court, and the players don’t belong in the stands.

He had a pretty long rant on college gameday about it a month ago. Hes been saying it for a long time. But I knew he’d be accused of just now saying something about it after this one.

Perhaps he did, but now it's all hands on deck from ESPN. What a difference a jersey makes.

 

[WildcatforLife1965]

As someone said in game thread make the home team forfeit the game.

How the hell are you supposed to do something like that? Enthusiasm and excitement from the fans are what makes the atmosphere special. I’ve watched that clip from all angles. It’s incidental contact, mostly caused by the Dukie. You know it’s coming, you can see them gathering along the sidelines. He appeared to make the initial contact. If this had been Jackson St or Quinnipiac, there would be no story. Just because it’s those pink panty wearing, floor slapping, overrated elitists, we are now going to resort to extreme measures? Spare me. I’ll bet you a 12 pack of cold 🍺, his crybaby ass is back on the court for their next game. #Floppers #Whiny #DukeSucks

 

[STL_Cat]

Perhaps he did, but now it's all hands on deck from ESPN. What a difference a jersey makes.

I mean he definitely did, no perhaps to it. If a Duke player getting hurt by it is what it takes for a change to finally be made, so be it. It has no place in today’s game.

 

[Ugoff]

I mean he definitely did, no perhaps to it. If a Duke player getting hurt by it is what it takes for a change to finally be made, so be it. It has no place in today’s game.

I'm not here advocating court storming, just pointing out the media duplicity. ESPN as a network has always given court storming a wink and a nod. Not only do they cover it live, they'll replay it as the lead-in to every Sports Center for the next 24 hours. Up until yesterday, that is.

 

[KyCatFan]

This has already been said but the easiest way to handle it is to take away the victory and award it to the visiting team. If it’s an automatic loss, I doubt fans will be excited about storming a court or field.

I wouldn't give the victory to the other team. I'd keep it a loss by them and the home team just gets a forfeit. Like how a team loses wins for cheating (like KU just did), but I'm pretty sure the other teams don't get the wins for it.

 

[ukfan117]

It is not Duke's side. It is the players' side v. fans. Just because as fans we dislike Duke, doesn't mean that every time someone say something remotely positive about Duke that it is a slight of UK.

I see you're point, but what I was referring to and sorry I didn't give clarification. Look what happened in 2012 when IU fans almost hurt our players and did hurt some of our fans and when we tried back then to address the issues of court storming, not one peep from anyone at ESPN. Others teams also had incident's during those last 12 years, not one single person addressed it.

Others have commented about the situation with IU, but my point is why now address it after Duke's player got hurt!? As much as I dislike Duke, I never want any player on an opposing team get injured.

 

[BBBLazing]

I see you're point, but what I was referring to and sorry I didn't give clarification. Look what happened in 2012 when IU fans almost hurt our players and did hurt some of our fans and when we tried back then to address the issues of court storming, not one peep from anyone at ESPN. Others teams also had incident's during those last 12 years, not one single person addressed it.

Others have commented about the situation with IU, but my point is why now address it after Duke's player got hurt!? As much as I dislike Duke, I never want any player on an opposing team get injured.

Jay Bilas has been bitching about it for months. This is not the first time people complained. I'm not sure why as a fanbase we worry so much about whether a commentator or a network says something positive toward another school.

 

[Creed Bratton]

Not a Duke fan but Flip had hip surgery if he hurt his hip on this it would be awful.

He knew they were going to rush the floor and chose to casually stroll to the sideline as they began running onto the floor. My guess is he either thought he is so big and tough that they wouldn't get near him or if they did he was too big and tough to get hurt.....he was wrong on both accounts.

 

[rick64]

I’ve got zero love for Puke, I mean Duke. But I’ve seen the replay several times this morning and I honestly can’t conclude that the Duke player tried to trip the fan or initiated it. That being said, the conferences are going to have to come up with something.

 

[Joerules19]

Here’s how I see it…. Kid came at him yelling something and getting his hand up towards his face. Flip raises up forearm and initiates contact. I think that was a fairly normal reaction for a 19/20 year old kid who is pissed that he lost and then had people running all over the place. Also if you watch the overhead video there is a 2nd kid on the left who does attempt to push him from behind.

Bottom line of this happened to a UK kid the perspective by many on the board would be 100% different. If they want to get rid of court storming, which I think they should, it is simple…. People rush the court, next game 0 fans. I think that would do the trick

 

[TankedCat]

Here’s how I see it…. Kid came at him yelling something and getting his hand up towards his face. Flip raises up forearm and initiates contact. I think that was a fairly normal reaction for a 19/20 year old kid who is pissed that he lost and then had people running all over the place. Also if you watch the overhead video there is a 2nd kid on the left who does attempt to push him from behind.

Bottom line of this happened to a UK kid the perspective by many on the board would be 100% different. If they want to get rid of court storming, which I think they should, it is simple…. People rush the court, next game 0 fans. I think that would do the trick

I like the forfeit idea

 

[WeWant9]

Court storming has gotten out of hand. It use to be reserved when you upset like a top 3 team, now kids are rushing beating any ol ranked team. I don’t see the ncaa or any league making it a forfeit if their fans rush, and the large fines haven’t really stopped schools from allowing it. Almost seems like you got to fine the individuals, or have them escorted out in cuffs to make any real change. Right now, everyone is just passing the buck on it.

 

[lakercat]

**** em. Who cares now, just cause it's Duke. And Flip was the first one to shove a player.

Couldn't have happened to a more deserving team.

It's all over DukESPN. I think storming the court is stupid, but it's only a big deal because it's Duke. If Edwards would have gotten injured when LSU stormed the court, no one would bat an eye.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

It's all over DukESPN. I think storming the court is stupid, but it's only a big deal because it's Duke. If Edwards would have gotten injured when LSU stormed the court, no one would bat an eye.

Now if only you could apply this same common sense to the Steph Curry thread..

 

[Creed Bratton]

I like the forfeit idea

It might be difficult to take the victory away after the game is complete but a 1 game suspension for the head coach would get the attention of schools.

 

[TankedCat]

It might be difficult to take the victory away after the game is complete but a 1 game suspension for the head coach would get the attention of schools.

that would work

 

[know1]

Court storming has gotten out of hand. It use to be reserved when you upset like a top 3 team, now kids are rushing beating any ol ranked team. I don’t see the ncaa or any league making it a forfeit if their fans rush, and the large fines haven’t really stopped schools from allowing it. Almost seems like you got to fine the individuals, or have them escorted out in cuffs to make any real change. Right now, everyone is just passing the buck on it.

Yep. They aren't really rushing the court anymore out of pure excitement/adrenaline. They are rushing it to take selfies and post videos to their streaming accounts. It's not a spontaneous display of excitement or emotion. It's clearly planned.

 

[TankedCat]

going back I don't know - 20 years ago, we used to give UNC fans crap for storming the court telling them that other teams fans storm the court for beating Kentucky but UK fans do not storm the court because no win is unexpected.

And I think there were some arguments on here at one time during some low points about the students wanting to do it and UK was prepared for it (not having students on the floor helps)

 

[ukfan1622]

It's all over DukESPN. I think storming the court is stupid, but it's only a big deal because it's Duke. If Edwards would have gotten injured when LSU stormed the court, no one would bat an eye.

The tv guys, who are vastly overrepresented by Duke and UNC former players, wouldn't have batted an eye if it had been a UK fan(well some would but less coverage than now). But UK fans would finally be unified over something if one of our best players had that happen to them. There wouldn't be a single UK fan okay with it.

 

[saxonburgcat]

Looks like Flip for Duke got injured during a court storming today. I wish they would make the home team forfeit the if the fans storm the court. But players and fans can be hurt or killed.

Yeah, I remember posters on here saying nobody had ever been hurt as a result of a court storming, which isn't true. My question is this: Does court storming happen at Duke, UNC, UK, UCLA???

 

[WeWant9]

Yeah, I remember posters on here saying nobody had ever been hurt as a result of a court storming, which isn't true. My question is this: Does court storming happen at Duke, UNC, UK, UCLA???

Not often but it does. I believe unc stormed the court not that long ago when they beat Duke, or vice versa I can’t remember now. UCLA rushed when they beat UK during our home/home run.

 

[Creed Bratton]

going back I don't know - 20 years ago, we used to give UNC fans crap for storming the court telling them that other teams fans storm the court for beating Kentucky but UK fans do not storm the court because no win is unexpected.

And I think there were some arguments on here at one time during some low points about the students wanting to do it and UK was prepared for it (not having students on the floor helps)

If we ever get to the point that any UK fan storms the court I hope I am dead and gone because if not the state of the program will kill me anyway.

 

[KyCatFan]

Maybe they should put something like hockey boards/glass around where the first real row of fans starts. The players rarely ever make it that far into the stands. Just put foam along the bottom half just in case. Get rid of the floor seats on the sidelines. Then the only people on or around the court are players, coaches, refs, the people at the scorer's table, and the radio/TV people.

Just require like 10' of space between the baseline and the boards/glass. Most of these players probably played on courts with chain link around them that had less room than that. Plus our practice gym at my high school had a concrete wall with foam pads behind the goals that we ran into all the time and didn't get hurt with much less space. They probably played in gyms like that as well.

 

[TankedCat]

If we ever get to the point that any UK fan storms the court I hope I am dead and gone because if not the state of the program will kill me anyway.

yea, now that I think about it, I think there were some new posters at one time trying to defend them storming the court after a win, and of course all the old times thought they were out of their minds.

similar to the "put the students on the floor and throw out the blue hairs" debates

 

[Cat06]

if it was that easy it would have happened by now in hundreds of rushing the courts over the years

Before the Who stampede in Cincinnati 11 kids had never been crushed to death going to a concert either.

It is going to happen eventually. Too many people packed on a court. Someone does something that scares people into running, but there is no where to go except into the people against the walls and doors. Those people die.

 

[TankedCat]

Before the Who stampede in Cincinnati 11 kids had never been crushed to death going to a concert either.

It is going to happen eventually. Too many people packed on a court. Someone does something that scares people into running, but there is no where to go except into the people against the walls and doors. Those people die.

I get the logic but that isn't really applicable here.

The suggestion is that a mob of students running onto a court is a threat to an athlete in the moment

I'm saying its a horrible idea to suggest a player should be able to assault students running onto the court out of fear

 

[TankedCat]

the world outside of Rupp Rafters

 

[saxonburgcat]

the world outside of Rupp Rafters

Will MJ change his mind when someone else is very seriously hurt?

"Official statistics aren't available, but according to an ESPN review, there have been about three court storms a week over the past three months in college basketball. In a three-hour span on Feb. 21, there were episodes in Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Rarely has anyone gotten hurt, but a 2004 court storm resulted in Arizona high school star Joe Kay suffering a stroke that left him partially paralyzed."

 

[TankedCat]

a stroke being caused by a court storming sounds suspect to me

 

[saxonburgcat]

a stroke being caused by a court storming sounds suspect to me

In the ensuing euphoria, Feb. 6, 2004, his school's fans stormed the court and the talents Kay had taken for granted were gone in an instant. Kay was thrown to the floor and suffered a torn carotid artery and a stroke, leaving him paralyzed on the right side.

In a lawsuit, Kay received $3.5 million.

 

[TankedCat]

In the ensuing euphoria, Feb. 6, 2004, his school's fans stormed the court and the talents Kay had taken for granted were gone in an instant. Kay was thrown to the floor and suffered a torn carotid artery and a stroke, leaving him paralyzed on the right side.

In a lawsuit, Kay received $3.5 million.

I stand corrected

 

[Creed Bratton]

a stroke being caused by a court storming sounds suspect to me

Are they sure it wasn't Covid?

 

[Creed Bratton]

I found it interesting, during the UNC game last night, that Seth Greenburg said that when it was one of their guys hurt from court storming that Scheyer and the Duke folks were calling for it to stop but a couple of years ago when the Duke fans stormed the field after a Duke football win the AD and coaches were even talking about that was what college sports were all about.

 

[Rockfly78]

Storming the court cannot be stopped absent the national guard or a very large police force being stationed at courtside. Even then, its iffy. If there is one truth that has lasted for all human history, it's that the mob rules. If 4000 people want to migrate 50 feet quickly, they will do it. There is no fine that will prevent it and we already know that.

Forfeiture is literally the only way to stop it if you want to stop it. That's the only way to make it hurt enough for the fans to make them restrain.

 

[UKUGA]

The best solution is to ensure that fans always storm the court after Duke loses so their players will learn how to handle it.