Jay Bilas Expresses Outrage Over Court Storming After Duke Mishap
Apr
Jay Bilas has had enough of the tradition of students storming the court after basketball games, and he’s not holding back his frustration, even after the recent Duke disaster.
When Duke’s star player Kyle Filipowski suffered a sprained ankle due to the chaos of Wake Forest students storming the court, Bilas saw it as a breaking point. Instead of quickly clearing the court to ensure player safety, the flood of students led to Filipowski’s injury, sparking outrage.
Bilas, a former Duke player himself, doesn’t mince words about his disdain for the practice. “It’s got to stop but it’s not going to. There’s no appetite in college basketball to stop it,” he remarked on ESPN, as reported by The Spun.
He points out the double standard where the media and institutions often embrace court storming as a visual spectacle, despite the risks involved. While acknowledging the excitement it brings, Bilas emphasizes the potential dangers and the need for change.
The recent incident underscored Bilas’ long-standing argument against court storming, highlighting the inherent risks and the lack of accountability. He questions who should be held responsible when such celebrations result in injuries to players with promising futures.
Bilas suggests limiting court storming to rare and specific circumstances, such as winning a championship, while urging an end to the frequent and indiscriminate rush onto the court after regular games.
For Bilas, the safety of players should always take precedence over fleeting moments of celebration, and he’s not afraid to speak out against a tradition that he sees as more hazardous than celebratory.
