After a couple of recent high-profile court-storming incidents in college basketball, involving Duke’s Kyle Filipowski and Caitlin Clark, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas has suggested the arrest of fans who participate in storming the court after upset wins. This controversial stance comes amid growing concerns over player safety, as the ACC currently does not impose fines for court-storming.
“Arrest the Fans” Says ESPN’s Jay Bilas
In the style of an old man yelling at a cloud, Jay Bilas has had his say on college basketball’s court-storming ‘problem.’ ESPN’s leading college basketball analyst wants any fans who are storming the court, to be kept on court before they are detained and arrested.
A player safety consideration amid the ACC’s lack of fines for court-storming is being raised with the practice that has been controversial coming under a recent microscope. Filipowski was caught up in it after Wake Forest’s victory over Duke in a scene that quickly turned dangerous. A scary situation involving Caitlin Clark also occurred in a court-storming earlier this year.
Those scenarios have led Bilas, one of the leading voices of college basketball, to have a drastic measure in mind.
“If they wanted to stop it, they could stop it tomorrow,” Bilas said. “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. Just say, ‘You’re all detained’ and give them all citations or arrest them if you want to. And then court-stormings will stop the next day.”
Court storming could be stopped as soon as tomorrow, but nothing is going to change… pic.twitter.com/vCsDcb1xwr
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) February 26, 2024
Alternatives to Stop Fans Storming the Court
Some alternatives that could be looked at to stop the trend of storming the court are listed below. These could prove more successful than the threat of arrest.
Let’s take a look at some viable alternatives:
- Barrier Systems: Installing temporary or permanent barrier systems around the court to physically prevent fans from entering the playing area.
- Pre-Game Announcements: Making announcements before and during the game, reminding fans of the rules and consequences related to court-storming.
- Post-Game Protocol: Establishing a clear post-game protocol for players and officials to quickly and safely exit the court in case of any fan intrusion.
- Delayed Celebration Policy: Implementing a policy that allows fans to celebrate on the court after a certain time has elapsed, under controlled conditions, to reduce the impulsiveness of storming immediately after the game.
While some of these may take away the spontaneity of the traditional court-storm, they would serve to protect the players, which is after all, what this fuss is about.
