Wake Forest Director of Athletics offers sincere apology for court storming issue injuring Duke's Kyle Filipowski

Wake Forest Director of Athletics John Currie offered a sincere apology to Duke University and seven-foot center Kyle Filipowski after the Demon Deacons' supporters stormed the court to celebrate the surprise victory.

Wake Forest picked up an 83-79 win over No. 8 Duke on Saturday evening and excited fans trooped to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Stadium to celebrate the win. Unfortunately, a fan collided with Filipowski, who got hurt and was hobbled following the collision. He was assisted by team manager and teammate Stanley Borden to walk towards the locker room tunnel.

In a statement released after the game, Currie was saddened by the incident and apologized to Filipowski.

“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,” Currie said.

The Wake Forest DA added that he had been in touch with his Duke counterpart, university Vice-President Nina King, and Atlantic Coast Conference Senior Associated Commissioner Paul Brazeau after the game and expressed his sincere apologies and concern for Filipowski.

Currie pledged to prevent similar situations from happening again and the school would be willing to share their experiences to improve crowd control and security.

Wake Forest incident draws negative reactions

Hunter Sallis #23 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons battles Kyle Filipowski #30 of the Duke Blue Devils for the ball during the second half of the game at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum on February 24, 2024 in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

The incident drew negative comments with ESPN's Seth Greenberg blaming Wake Forest officials for not having a crowd control plan in case they pulled off an upset over Duke.

"If you’re playing this game and you’re expecting to win, you’ve got to hire extra security, you’ve got to have a plan in place to make sure these players get off the court safely. Whether it’s create a blockade with your security so the students on both ends can’t get on the court. But you’ve got to have something in place," said Greenberg.

Twitter users, meanwhile, reacted to the Wake Forest official's apology.

One user sought Wake Forest's accountability and called on NCAA management to impose sanctions following the incident.

Another wanted proper post-match conduct to be part of the student's code.

Post-game celebrations are not new in sports, especially when an underdog beats a favorite. However, excessive celebrations could lead to untoward incidents that could cause injuries to unsuspecting individuals.

It is still good practice at all mass events, including basketball games, to have officials take control of the crowd to prevent incidents like this from taking place.