A little over a month ago, Caitlin Clark was hit by an Ohio State fan, who had returned to the field to celebrate her team's victory against Iowa. The basketball player found herself on the ground, but ultimately did not suffer anything serious, becoming the best scorer in NCAA history a few days later.
An incident which had rekindled the debate on pitch invasions in the university championship. An even livelier debate since this weekend, when Kyle Filipowski was also hit by a fan.
Because as soon as the buzzer sounded, Wake Forest fans sprinted onto the field to celebrate their team's victory (83-79) against rival Duke. The problem was that the Blue Devils were in the middle, and one of the fans hit the inside at full speed, announced as a “lottery pick”. during the next Draft.
Obviously furious, the pivot (20 years old, 2m13) demanded change on social networks, especially since he had the feeling that someone had deliberately attacked him…
An intentional gesture?
“The way this situation is being handled is totally ridiculous”, he explained. “I definitely think it was personal. It was intentional, that's for sure. They obviously saw a big guy like me trying to make his way off the field and they could get around me, right? There is no excuse.”
Pitch invasions are part of the university “culture”, and faculties explain that trying to prevent them would be too expensive, and would undoubtedly be ineffective or counterproductive, the presence of greater security could push fans to take even more risks.
But for Duke coach Jon Scheyer, these invasions became far too fast.
“When are we going to ban these land invasions? » he asked the press. “When are we going to ban this? How many times must a player find himself in a dangerous situation, being hit, pushed or insulted at such close range? We have to look at what is happening in the country. Caitlin Clark, something happened. And now “Flip”, I don’t know what about his injury. He sprained ankle. When I played, there was at least 10 seconds before the pitch was invaded. Now the buzzer hasn't even sounded before they run onto the field. This is what happened to us several times this year. »
