UNC Fined $50,000 by ACC Following Court-Storming Incident at Duke Basketball Game
The University of North Carolina has been assessed a $50,000 fine by the Atlantic Coast Conference following a violation of the league’s event security policy after its men’s basketball victory over Duke University on February 7. The penalty underscores the ACC’s commitment to ensuring the safety of all participants in conference athletic events.
The ACC’s event security policy is designed to safeguard the well-being of student-athletes, coaches, officials, and fans. According to the conference, the fine represents a penalty for a first offense. All revenue generated from these fines is allocated to the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship Fund, which provides financial support for ACC student-athletes pursuing graduate studies.
Following UNC’s 71-68 win, Duke’s head coach, Jon Scheyer, expressed serious concerns regarding the safety of his team and staff. “For me, it’s hard to talk about the game when I was most concerned for the safety of our players,” Scheyer stated. He further detailed that members of his staff were physically assaulted and his family felt threatened amidst the celebratory rush onto the court. “I got staff members that got punched in the face, my family pushing people away trying to not get trampled and that’s not what this game is about.”
UNC’s Director of Athletics, Bubba Cunningham, publicly apologized to Scheyer and the Duke program. Addressing the media after a press conference with UNC basketball coach Hubert Davis, Cunningham acknowledged the intensity of the rivalry and the excitement of court stormings, but emphasized the need for improved safety measures. “Rivalry games are tremendous…absolutely fabulous,” Cunningham said. “But it’s really tough, and I feel for our event staff. When they rushed the court, a number of people got knocked over.” He explained that standard protocol involves creating a safe pathway for opposing teams to exit the court, but that this process was compromised during the incident.
Cunningham confirmed that the university will conduct a thorough investigation, reviewing video footage to determine the extent of any injuries and to understand the sequence of events. “We will (look at the video) to make sure we understand what happened. If somebody did get injured, that’s very unfortunate, and we’ll have to figure out how that happened,” he added.
The University of North Carolina subsequently released a statement accepting responsibility for the fine and affirming its commitment to safety. The statement confirmed that a review of available video footage supports the university’s assertion that its protocols for safely escorting Duke players, bench personnel, and officials off the court were followed. UNC pledged to continue refining its safety protocols to mitigate risks associated with future court stormings, and considers the matter closed as it looks ahead to the remainder of the basketball season.
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(Photo: Kevin Roy/TH247, 247Sports)
