Jay Bilas wants to see college basketball court-stormers face legal consequences.
Over the weekend, Duke star Kyle Filipowski suffered a leg injury when Wake Forest fans stormed the court after defeating the eighth-ranked Blue Devils.
Bilas, a college basketball analyst and Duke alum, appeared on ESPN’s “First Take” on Monday and effectively said that enough is enough.
“If they wanted to stop it, they could stop it tomorrow,” Bilas said.
Although administrators have told Bilas that security experts believe stopping court-storming to be impossible, he believes the solution is relatively simple.
“One time, all you have to do is once they’re on the court, don’t let them off. Just say, ‘You’re all detained,’ and give them all citations or arrest them if you want to,” Bilas said.
“And then court stormings will stop the next day. There’s no accountability for this. The fans feel like it’s an entitlement, and the universities like it, and the truth is, [the media] like it.”
After the game, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer also called for an end to court-storming.
“I’m more concerned about the well-being of our guys. Flip sprains his ankle,” Scheyer said.
“When are we gonna ban court-storming? When are we going to ban that? How many times does a player have to get into something where they get punched or they get pushed or they get taunted right in their face? It’s a dangerous thing.”
Filipowski believed the incident was “intentional”.
“I felt a bunch of hits on my body, this one was the worst of them,” he said after the game.
“It’s really ridiculous of how that situation is handled. I absolutely feel like it was personal, intentional for sure. … There’s no excuse for that.”
With March Madness approaching, Duke locals who want to bet on the Blue Devils to win it all should consider the most reliable North Carolina betting apps. If this is you, using the Fanatics North Carolina promo code could provide a sense of motivation to make a wager on Duke.
Earlier this basketball season, an Ohio State fan collided with Iowa women’s basketball phenom Caitlin Clark after the Buckeyes beat the Hawkeyes.
Clark did not suffer significant injuries in the collision.