The Big 12 on Friday said that Iowa State "followed league protocol" in how it dealt with spectators storming the court after Thursday's men's basketball game against Iowa, according to Jeff Charis-Carlson of the Iowa City PRESS-CITIZEN. Hundreds of fans "flooded the court at Hilton Coliseum" after ISU rallied to an 83-82 win over Iowa. Des Moines Register sports columnist Randy Peterson was "injured in the game's aftermath," suffering a compound leg fracture. The incident "triggered state and national conversations about the lengths to which institutions should go to keep fans off the field of play." Big 12 schools over the summer "approved a measure allowing the league's commissioner to levy fines on and take away home games from institutions that failed to keep fans from storming courts or rushing fields after games." However, Big 12 officials "determined Iowa State handled the situation in a manner consistent with the conference's rules related to sportsmanship and ethical conduct." The incident "still may lead advisers for Iowa State's basketball student section, named Cyclone Alley, to craft policies explicitly against court storming." ISU officials said that the school's event management personnel "got into position so they could assist the teams and referees in exiting the court if it became a necessity." But such practices "do not extend such protection to journalists covering a game, nor do they extend to fans who may be in the way of other fans seeking to storm the court" (Iowa City PRESS-CITIZEN, 12/12). ESPN's Dan Le Batard said the ISU court storming “wasn’t even much of a court storming” and did not "look out of control.” ESPN’s Bomani Jones: “That’s the point. Even if it doesn't look out of control, somebody suffered a compound fracture of the leg" ("Highly Questionable," ESPN, 12/11).
CLEAR THE COURT: Peterson said he was "okay with" court storming, but added, "Let the people who need to get off the floor first get off the floor." He said, "I'm not against it, but I just wish ... that there could be some way that -- okay, get everybody who needs to be off the floor off the floor." Radio host Dan Patrick said, "I don't know if you can tell fans to wait, though, Randy. ... If fans confront players after a loss, or a coach, that's when I think trouble could ensue. But I just don't think you could say, 'Let's wait 60 seconds and then you can storm the court.'" Peterson responded, "You worry for the referees ... you worry for the Iowa basketball team." He added, "If people could put their heads together they could figure out an exit path for everybody that would be safe. ... Once they get everybody off ... that could be a monumental task to work that out, then it's okay" ("The Dan Patrick Show," 12/11). FS1’s Petros Papadakis said it is "not safe" to have the court stormed, but it also is "not safe to try to stop a bunch of kids, if you’re one or two security people in a tunnel, from the court being stormed either." Papadakis: "You’re kind of in a no-win situation there" ("Fox Sports Live: Countdown," FS1, 12/11).
