Let's Get It Right Out There!

  Here it  is the end of February, and  so much in the sports world is in flux. The NFL is partially asleep right now, in its off season. Baseball has just begun its exhibition games. Hockey is in its run to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The NBA is muddling along to its playoffs, with so many playoff slots undecided. 

College basketball is heading towards the conference championships in Division I; the conference tournament winners in Division III has been decided; and the DIII NCAA tournament begins this week. Yet collegiate ice hockey, wrestling and gymnastics continue while sports such as tennis, baseball, lacrosse and outdoor track are already into their seasons. 

It is college basketball where I begin. Winston-Salem, North Carolina to be exact. Duke, long the bane of the ACC schools in basketball due to its success under Mike Krzyzewski, its Hall Of Fame coach, along with the arrogance of its student body, was playing at member school Wake Forest, the other private university in North Carolina. After arch rival North Carolina, it is Wake which Duke has played the most. Since 1949-50, Duke is 126-59 versus the Demon Deacons. 

As in other years, Duke is highly ranked—they were #7 heading into Saturday’s game. Wake wasn’t terrible—17-9—and in fourth place in the conference. It was a Saturday afternoon and the students were primed.

Wake needed a quality win to bolster its resume when the NCAA Selection Committee starts to evaluate teams qualifications for the field of 68. While among its nine losses were games against North Carolina, Virginia and Duke—all ahead of the Deacons in the standings—there were a few bad losses and no real quality Quad 1 wins. 

A win over Duke would make a statement to the Committee. Which is what happened. But that is not the story. 

Instead, the frenzy which followed is an all-too-familiar scene—whether it is on a football field or basketball court. The students felt it is was their right to spam the floor to celebrate with their team—it happened when Ohio State beat Caitlin Clark  and Iowa; and on Thursday when LSU won on a last second basket to defeat long-time SEC force Kentucky; amongst the joyous throng was women’s basketball star April Reese. 

In the Clark incident, she was run into and seemed stunned and possibly hurt. There was indignation over this scene, but security really hasn’t been tightened. 

Thing were different this time. Kyle Filipowski, a possible top ten NBA lottery pick in the next draft, wanted to get off the court, away from the celebrants. Except he couldn’t. He was run into by a taunting Wake Forest fan, injuring his knee and ankle. The severity hasn’t been disclosed. 

First, I hope that Filipowski recovers to play again and lead Duke this season. But I hold the Wake Forest athletic department and the ACC responsible for this incident. When will it stop? When somebody is severely injured and the subsequent lawsuits hit a school and conference where it hurts the most—in the wallet? 

What would have happened if Clark—arguably among the best ever to play on the women’s side—or Filipowski, a top tier men’s player this season—had their careers ended? While these euphoric spectacles look great on TV—I have been to one at Rutgers when the Scarlet Knights topped Louisville on national television—a lot of bad things can happen. 

I was at a Rutgers-Colgate game in my youth when the fans ran onto the field after the game ended, tearing down the goalposts. They were solid wood, and when they fell, there were jagged edges, I saw some revelers with blood from the resulting celebration. 

Something has to be done to end this riotous behavior. And it must be done now. The NCAA, losers in court this week about Name, Image and Likeness and suffering loss after loss in the judicial and intercollegiate worlds, must ensure that this behavior does not permeate the upcoming tournament. The organization has the resources to make this happen. As long as the NCAA still has power—that’s story for another time. 

However, not all colleges and universities are willing and able to devote money to stopping this long-standing “tradition.” Employ more security, including police officers. Use TV footage to prosecute fans, akin to what the Justice Department did to the January 6th invaders of the Capitol. Make it ironclad and clear during pre-game and end of game announcements that this type of behavior will not be tolerated and could result in prosecution—even if the crime is merely trespassing. The person who ran into Filapowski looked to have an intent to injure—a mens rea if you would; that is the perfect time to show that this kind of action is illegal. 

Buying a ticket to a game does not give the fan the right to go onto the playing surface—at any time. Booing and name-calling, as vile and abhorrent as it has become, is an unfortunately accepted part of the game. Good sportsmanship be damned, I guess. 

Substantial fines to schools which continue to permit this aberrant conduct may help a bit. Threatening to place the school on probation and banning the teams from the post-season might possibly get an administration to act in a prophylactic manner. Whatever measures help post-game civility are fine. 

Measures designed to prevent all activity after games are necessary. Look at the major brawl which erupted at the conclusion of the Texas A&M-Commerce and University of Incarnate World basketball game this week. A young girl and a student manager were injured. 

The schools denounced this heinous event, which should be condemned no matter the trigger for the melee, which broke into clusters of players  and lasted for a while. Those who participated will be disciplined—suspensions may not be enough here. Collegiate careers need to be on the line—both athletically and academically. 

At the high school level, we have repeatedly seen instances of this type of activity, where  fans empty from the stands and start to fight. Referrals to local authorities have resulted. 

Thankfully, no guns of knives have been used. This is not to say that such mob-like behavior would not take off, using things in the area as armaments. Again, I refer back to January 6th and how many U.S. Capital Police officers were injured or died. 

We are a society of laws. Rules are there to be followed—for the protection of the people. While some laugh at the saying “Rules are meant to be broken”, rules and dictates about fan behavior should be observed and followed. If we want the games to continue—then root for your team and scream your head off in exaltation if you wish—just stay in the stands where you belong.

Do we need to return to the early days of college basketball—when wire mesh encircled the court to protect spectators from players going for loose balls and to protect them from over-eager fans? This is why basketball players are sometimes referred to as cagers. 

Our society is in turmoil for many reasons. But there is no political reasons to oppose ending this craziness aligned with sporting events—now. 

It may be a bit late for Clark and Filipowski or the non-combatants in Texas. Let’s get it right out there!