The Student News Site of Shawnee Mission Northwest

SMNW

The Student News Site of Shawnee Mission Northwest

SMNW

The Student News Site of Shawnee Mission Northwest

SMNW

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Court Rushing Column

 Is Court Rushing Too Dangerous?

By: Matthew Owens

 

 

As the Sunflower Showdown came to an end, the talk was not about how Kansas State University had upset the University of Kansas. Instead, it was about the court storming that followed. Follow

ing a K-State victory, K-State fans rushed onto the court, pushing KU players into the scorers bench. Alleged reports claimed that a fan deliberately hit KU forward Jamari Traylor and KU assistant coach Kurtis Townsend put a KSU student into a headlock.

This was not a normal court storming because most court storms do not have any safety threats.  but it begs the question: is court storming safe or not? Court storming has been a tradition at colleges for decades. Fans storm the court after a game to show pride, generally after a major upset for the home team. It’s a reward for both the winning team and their fans and could even be a jumpstart during a bad season. Court rushing could also be fun, especially after beating a team’s closest rival.

The same could not be said for the team that lost. In this case, the KU team and coaches did not have enough time to leave the court before K-State fans stormed.   However, enhanced security usually protects visiting players and coaches during court stormings, allowing them to safely leave the court with only wounded pride. Rarely do injuries occur as a result of a court rush.

The Southeastern Conference wants to end court and field storming by imposing escalating fines schools: $5,000 for a first offense, $25,000 and $50,000 for additional incidents. Their efforts are futile; it is not difficult for big schools to handle said fines.The conference is trying to end the tradition by imposing meaningless fines that will not have a major impact on them. Court storming and field rushes at  SEC schools have not stopped. For instance Mizzou, Kentucky and Ole Miss fans all rushed the field last year. The schools paid their fines and moved on – no big deal. Schools often overlook such repercussions to see their fans further engaged in the sports.

The coaches who want to end court rushing are usually vocal about it only after their team loses and is rushed. For instance, KU head coach Bill Self said he would end court storming  only after his team lost. Self was resentful about losing to his instate rival, an understandable attitude knowing that KSU finished this year with a losing record.

Colleges seem to think that by hiring  enough security, they can keep fans off the court. Even 100 security personnel would be useless in the face of 10,000 fans. Instead, security should just be focused on protecting visiting players.

Court storming is fun for fans and players of all ages. As long as it is done safely, which is what happens most of the time, it should be allowed for big upset like a non ranked beating the number 1 ranked team  or instate rival games. It is a way for fans to show allegiance to their school.

What coaches think about Court Rushing.

AD- Giacalone “I don’t think so, I know what the safety of it all is and stuff like that and another thing you have to think about is what about the people storming the court what if they get trampled who is the liability.

Girls Basketball-Stewart- “If I was a college kid, yes I would court rush. I actually did when I was in college and KU beat KSU in football.”

Boys Basketball-Mike Rose- “Probably so, I think it is the nature of it. I could see if you beat your instate rival something like that. I Could see where I would be out on the floor.”

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Court Rushing Column