Duke men’s basketball standout Kyle Filipowski sustained an injury following a court-storming incident by Wake Forest fans in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The event occurred on Saturday, constituting the second collision between an athlete and a fan on a college court in slightly over a month.
Following the Demon Deacons’ 83-79 upset triumph over the No. 8-ranked Blue Devils, jubilant fans flooded the court as the buzzer sounded.
Amidst the celebration, the sophomore center seemed to collide with a fan while making his way toward the locker room. Subsequently, he required assistance to leave the court.
Following the game, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer confirmed that Filipowski had “sprained his ankle” and advocated for a prohibition on court-storming.
“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,” he added.
Scheyer emphasized that the incident should not detract from Wake Forest’s performance and cited recent court-storming episodes as rationale for advocating a ban.
“You look around the country, Caitlin Clark, something happens,” Scheyer said. “And now Flip, I don’t know what his status is going to be.”
In Columbus, Ohio, on January 21, Caitlin Clark, a senior guard for the University of Iowa and the newly crowned all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball, collided with a fan on the court following her team’s loss to Ohio State.
Footage aired on ESPN depicted Clark sprinting across the court as a fan, seemingly holding a cell phone aloft, darted across simultaneously, resulting in a collision between the two.
“When I played, at least it was 10 seconds and you storm(ed) the court,” Scheyer said. “Now, the buzzer doesn’t even go off and they’re running on the floor. This has happened to us a bunch this year. … I don’t want this to take away at all from Wake (Forest). They earned it, they deserve the win.”
Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes echoed the calls to prohibit the hazardous practice of court storming.
“I didn’t see what happened in the end. I hope he’s OK,” Forbes told reporters after the game. “I don’t like court stormings. I never have. I’ve been a part of those before as a coach. It just (doesn’t) feel safe.”
John Currie, Wake Forest’s Director of Athletics, also denounced the incident.
“I am in complete agreement that something more must be done about the national phenomenon of court and field storming and Wake Forest looks forward to being a part of those conversations,” he said in a statement.
Filipowski, who concluded the game with a team-leading 17 points, expressed to WFMY News afterward that he perceived the incident as “personal.”
“I felt a bunch of hits on my body. This one was the worst of them,” Filipowski said.
“I absolutely felt like it was personal. Intentional for sure,” he added. “There’s no reason where they see a big guy like me trying to work my way off the court and they can’t just work around me, you know? There’s no excuse for that.”
In a statement on Saturday, Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner Jim Phillips affirmed that the “safety of our student-athletes is always our top priority.” He further stated,
“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.”
The Blue Devils’ season record dropped to 21-6 following the game, whereas the Demon Deacons improved to 18-9.
Duke’s upcoming schedule includes a home game against Louisville on Wednesday.
