Jay Bilas Is Not A Court-Storming Guy
Court storming in college basketball is a hot-button issue in sports, and ESPN's Jay Bilas has offered his take on it.
And he's not a fan.
Bilas and his College Gameday cohorts were talking about court storming. This comes after Iowa women's star Caitlin Clark got bumped into by a fan after losing to Ohio State.
Sure, she went down a little easily, but there would have been no contact at all had fans stayed in their seats.
"The passion of it is great," Bilas said. "I love the passion. Fans do not belong on the court. Ever."
That declaration got some boos from the Arkansas Razorbacks fans in the crowd.
"And players don't belong in the stands," he continued, referencing the time then-Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart pushed a Texas Tech fan.
C'mon, Jay. Stop putting up walls and start building bridges, maaaaaan...
South Carolina fans storm the court after defeating the Kentucky Wildcats. (Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports)
Bilas Said The SEC Levying Fines Does Nothing
Bilas continued that the SEC's plan to start fining teams $100,000 for storming the court won't solve the problem. He cited South Carolina's president running out on the court with fans after beating Kentucky earlier this week.
"They don't care. 'We'll pay it just for the visual and to put the pictures up in the locker room and all that stuff," he said.
He also noted that media companies — like ESPN — love to show fans storming courts.
"When somebody gets hurt, we're going to get serious about it."
Court storming has proven to be so divisive that I think it's almost joined politics and religion on the shortlist of things not to discuss at dinner unless you want everyone to leave with their ears steaming.
I see both sides of the argument. Yeah, it's overdone at this point, but getting rid of it entirely seems like an overaction.
Personally, I'd never storm the court. Not because I'm above it, but because leaving while everyone else floods the hardwood is a great way to beat traffic.
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