Courtstorming is certainly not a new phenomenon in college basketball. For years, fans and students have made a tradition out of running onto the court to celebrate an upset victory or a major win. But after a fan ran into Iowa Hawkeyes women’s hoops sensation Caitlin Clark while storming the court last week, a debate has sparked regarding whether or not it should be permitted. And ESPN analyst Jay Bilas has made his stance pretty clear.
On ESPN College GameDay on Saturday morning, Bilas did not mince words when he spoke out against courtstorming, bluntly saying “Fans do not belong on the court.”
“The passion of it is great. I love the passion,” Bilas said of courtstorming. “Fans do not belong on the court. Ever. Ever. And players don’t belong in the stands. ”
Bilas recalled an incident back in 2014 when former Oklahoma State star Marcus Smart got into an altercation with a Texas Tech fan, pointing out that fans and players should stay in their own designated spaces.
“Players don’t belong in the stands. Fans do not belong on the court,” Bilas said.
“Fans do not belong on the court ever.”
Agree or disagree with @JayBilas? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/7st6UgrL85
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) January 27, 2024
Bilas pointed out that in many cases there actually are rules in place to prevent this from happening, but those in power do not care to actually enforce the rules. Instead, schools choose to simply pay the hefty fines, and media companies continue to glorify the practice.
“In the Southeastern Conference, the conference has deemed that a violation that will cost you a fine of 100,000. South Carolina stormed the court, and the President Emeritus ran out and promoted him running out on his own social media channel,” Bilas said. “They don’t care – they’ll pay it just for the visual, and put the pictures up in the locker room for recruiting. We love it. We put it on TV at the end of every highlight. We promote it – all media companies do. When somebody gets hurt, we’re going to get serious about it.”
Bilas pointed out that none of this is allowed to happen at the professional level – the NFL, the NBA and Major League Baseball all prevent it from happening and protect the players. And Bilas thinks college sports should take this approach.
