John Currie, the Director of Athletics at Wake Forest, has issued a statement regarding the injury to Duke star Kyle Filipowski, which was sustained as Demon Deacons fans stormed the court immediately after the win.
Filipowski’s injury drew a lot of commentary. The game’s announcers quickly denounced court-storming, as did Duke coach Jon Scheyer and studio analysts. And those opinions seem to be shared by Currie.
Currie issued a statement on Saturday night, which was shared on the Wake Forest basketball team’s Twitter/X page.
“On behalf of Wake Forest, we sincerely regret the unfortunate on-court incident following this afternoon’s men’s basketball game and hope the involved Duke student-athlete is doing better,” the statement said. “I called Duke Vice President and Director of Athletics Nina King and ACC Senior Associate Commissioner Paul Brazeau immediately after the game and expressed our sincere regret for the situation and our concern for the Duke student-athlete’s well-being.
“Although our event management staff and security had rehearsed postgame procedures to protect the visiting team and officials, we clearly must do better. I appreciate the postgame comments of Duke Head Coach Jon Scheyer and I am in complete agreement that something more must be done about the national phenomenon of court and field storming and Wake Forest looks forward to being a part of those conversations.”
Statement from AD John Currie following Saturday’s game against Duke University at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. pic.twitter.com/Dgxa2u0FER
— Wake Forest Men's Basketball (@WakeMBB) February 25, 2024
That sentiment was shared by Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes.
“I didn’t see what happened in the end. I hope he’s okay,” said Forbes, per ESPN. “I don’t like court-stormings. I never have. I’ve been a part of those before. They just don’t feel safe.”
Several issues contributed here. One, if Wake Forest was up even five points instead of four, the Duke players could have been better positioned to clear the court quickly. But while four-point plays are unlikely, they are possible. Two, the inbounds pass to Filipowski took him away from the bench and locker room area. So, he was a few seconds slower getting off of the court than he otherwise might have been.
That said, Filipowski’s injury was hardly an isolated incident. Court-storming has long been an issue/ While it didn’t prove serious, Iowa star Caitlin Clark getting hurt in a similar incident in January is still fresh on people’s minds.
[Wake Forest Basketball on Twitter/X]
