No, Jay Bilas doesn’t want to arrest all college students.
But the ESPN college basketball analyst, a recurring guest on Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take, was given a platform to clarify his remarks on court-storming earlier this week. Those viral comments saw Bilas suggest that perhaps arresting fans who storm the court would help put an end to this contentious practice.
ESPN's Jay Bilas on court storming: "If they wanted to stop it, they could stop it tomorrow… 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… pic.twitter.com/Bdbb0SZTDy
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 26, 2024
“I’m not trying to arrest college kids,” clarified Bilas to Dan Katz (Barstool Big Cat). “I’m sure you guys (Barstool Sports, PMT) are among the masses for which nuance is this thing you can’t grasp. All I said was — we’re not changing court-storming; it’s not going to stop. They don’t want to stop it. So, when they say they do, they’re not telling the truth. If they wanted to stop it, they could stop it tomorrow. And that’s why I said the thing about you could issue a few citations; nobody would do it anymore. If they wanted to stop it, it’s not that big of a deal. They don’t want to stop it because they like the visual of it.
“And it sounds like you guys do too. But, being completely honest about — it’s not part of the game. Like, the game’s over. And if you think about… like, let me ask you guys, what’s the best place in America and the most passionate? The one place you’d want to see a basketball game?”
PFT Commenter (Eric Sollenberger) said the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier, while Big Cat quipped that he’d say Wake Forest standing at center court after they beat Duke. That drew a laugh from Bilas, who asked if it wouldn’t be Allen Fieldhouse in Kansas.
Bilas argued that Kansas fans don’t need to storm the court to show their passion because the atmosphere at Allen Fieldhouse is already electric. Even when they do encounter a rare home underdog situation, such as their win over UConn earlier this year, the fans maintain their composure and celebrate without rushing the court.
After making his point about the Jayhawks, Bilas surfaced back to the original argument.
“The court-storming thing, look, I’m not going to talk people out of it,” he said. “If you love it, I’m not trying to talk you out of it. My perspective is that fans don’t belong on the court ever. And players don’t belong in the stands ever. I don’t think that’s a controversial thing. if you guys want to do that, then do it. I’m not trying to talk you out of it. But don’t tell me we can’t stop it if we want to.”
