ACC releases statement on court storming following Kyle Filipowski injury
In light of a viral Kyle Filipowski injury in the wake of a post-game court storming following the Duke–Wake Forest game, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips has released a statement. He made sure to note that player safety is the most important concern, adding that the ACC intends to discuss the situation with both the Blue Devils and Demon Deacons.
“The safety of our student-athletes is always our top priority,” the statement read. “We have been and will continue to be, in contact with both Duke and Wake Forest regarding what happened following today’s game. Across college athletics, we have seen far too many of these incidents that put individuals at serious risk, and it will require the cooperation of all – including spectators – to ensure everyone’s well-being.
“As a conference, we will continually assess with our schools the best way to protect our student-athletes, coaches, and fans.”
The incident occurred in the moments directly after Wake Forest secured an 83-79 upset of No. 8 Duke.
Thrilled with the win, fans immediately stormed the court from both baselines. As they did, a fan ran past Duke center Kyle Filipowski and seemingly taunted him, losing his footing in the process.
It appeared that Filipowski got tangled up and potentially turned his ankle, but he came up immediately favoring his right leg. He was quickly surrounded by teammates and Duke staffers, who helped usher him off the court.
Needless to say, it was an injury with potentially huge implications for the Blue Devils. Should Filipowski miss any time, Duke will be without its heart and soul in the frontcourt.
Kyle Filipowski averages a team-best 16.9 points and 8.2 rebounds. He also chips in 2.7 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals per contest, thoroughly filling up the stat sheet on most nights.
The travesty in the whole situation is that it was perfectly avoidable.
Had staff been in place to quickly escort Duke players off the court — or at the very least protect them while fans mill around them — nobody is likely talking about the incident. Instead, coach Jon Scheyer and others immediately questioned why court storming is a thing in the first place.
“Disappointed we lost,” Scheyer said after the game. “But look, for me, I’m more concerned about the well-being of our guys. Flip sprains his ankle. When are we going to 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.
“I don’t want that to take away from the game that Wake played because Wake played a big-time game… When I played, at least it was 10 seconds and then you could storm the court. Now, it’s the buzzer doesn’t even go off and they’re running off the floor.”
This is not the first high-profile court storming incident this year, either.
Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark got caught up in a court storming earlier this season when Ohio State recorded a big upset. Clark was collided to on the court but thankfully emerged still perfectly healthy.
Regardless, the calls to end court storming are only going to continue if more high-profile incidents like with Caitlin Clark and Kyle Filipowksi continue to occur.