Tulane is investigating after a fan was seen pushing Memphis star David Jones during a court storm after the Green Wave’s 81-79 upset win over the Tigers on Sunday afternoon.
A shirtless Tulane fan was seen on video pushing Jones in the back briefly after fans had poured onto the court at Devlin Fieldhouse on Sunday in New Orleans. The Green Wave survived a hostile matchup with No. 10 Memphis to hand the Tigers their second straight loss.
“This type of behavior is unacceptable and these are actions that are not condoned by Tulane Athletics or the University,” Tulane said in a statement, via ESPN. “We are following up on this matter and have been in contact with the University of Memphis and the American Athletic Conference office. Ensuring the safety of everyone at Tulane Athletics events will always be our highest priority and we will continue to be vigilant in this regard moving forward.”
Jones dropped a game-high 32 points and had 11 rebounds in the loss for Memphis.
While the push appeared to be relatively minor, it marked the latest similar incident in the sport in recent weeks. Earlier on Sunday, an Ohio State fan collided with Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark after the Buckeyes’ upset overtime win over No. 2 Iowa. Clark was OK, but she was knocked to the ground hard during the court storm in Columbus.
These incidents are nothing new, either. Longtime Des Moines Register columnist Randy Peterson broke his leg after fans knocked him down while storming the court after Iowa State’s win over Iowa in 2015. Some leagues have tried fining programs to curb the longstanding tradition — the SEC hits schools with a $100,000 fine after a first offense, for example, and the Big 12 fined UCF $25,000 earlier this month after its upset win over Kansas — but nothing seems to work.
No. 2 Purdue coach Matt Painter called out Nebraska and school officials in general after the Cornhuskers stormed the court following their upset win over the Boilermakers earlier this month. Fans rushed the court in Lincoln after that upset win, which was the Huskers’ first against a No. 1 team since 1982.
“I don’t know why the institutions aren’t ready for it,” Painter said on Jan. 9, via ESPN’s Myron Medcalf. “What did you think was going to happen if [Nebraska] won? Spread the word. Spread the word before somebody gets hurt.”
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