By Colin Ross And Shada Felli
Following a 74-71 men’s basketball victory over fourth-ranked Cincinnati, University of Louisville fans who stormed the court met significant resistance from the Louisville Police Dept., prompting a review of the university’s policy prohibiting fans from rushing the court.
Immediately after the final buzzer students pushed forward towardd the court while Louisvile Police attemted to keep them in the stands. Police used force to restrain those who made it onto the court, resulting in two fans recieving written citations.
Student Government President Carlton Brown called a press conference on Friday in response to the event. “Students tried to participate in a ritual that students participate in across the country. For their efforts, they were punished by Jefferson Security and LPD,” he said.
Brown later played a videotape of the security guards phyiscally and verbally assaulting fans as they attempted to come onto the court.
Following Brown’s press conference, Kenny Klein, U of L sports information director, justified the current policy for safety reasons.
“This practice is not allowed because it’s dangerous,” said Klein. “The configuration of our arena, with press tables surrounding the court, just really doesn’t allow for quick, safe access to the court for fans.”
While head basketball coach coach Rick Pitino acknowledged that security officials were “just trying to do their jobs,” he later sided with the fans.
In a press conference Friday afternoon, Pitino stated, ” They [students] are just showing enthusiasm, supporting the team after beating the fourth ranked team in the nation.”
According to Louisville Police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley, no arrests were made and no one was injured. However, two people received police citations, both for disorderly conduct, alcohol intoxications and criminal trespassing. One of the two also received an additional citation for inciting a riot.
“Students were basically punished,” said Brown. “They were dehumanized and assaulted for celebrating a great victory that was never expected.”
Brown also stated that the Student Government Association was trying to get a complete investigation of the event. “The most disturbing factor of this occurrence was that the Louisville Police Department was found punching and throwing elbows at the students.”
Student reactions fell along the same lines as officials.
Senior sports administration major John Reeker stated, “there needs to be leeway…they [officials] need to designate an area where students can come onto the floor and celebrate with the players.”
Klein agrees students do need an area for celebration, but his main concern is the safety and efficiency by which they would be allowed to enter the court.
“I understand the need for security, but if I was down there, I would have tried to rush the floor,” said Aaron Orrender, junior theatre arts major. “They [security] were just doing their job, but I think the force was excessive.”
If you have comments or concerns about the events that took place that evening, a complaint form has been set up on the SGA website for people in attendance to report what they saw. The statements received from these forms will be compiled and given to the proper authorities once a number of forms have been completed. The website’s address is: www.louisville.edu/sga/complaint.
