Kansas State Fan Accused Of Pushing a Kansas Player Writes Apology

by Anthony FalcoFebruary 25, 2015, 1:13 pmNews >

Yesterday, it was reported that after Kansas State’s surprise 70-63 victory over the eighth ranked Kansas, unruly Wildcats’ fans dangerously stormed the court. An act that has many journalists calling for the outright ban of court storming.

During the celebration, Kansas coach Bill Self was nearly squashed by a tidal wave of people, the assistant coach got into a physical altercation while protecting his players and Jamari Traylor was shoved by an over-eager fan. And the latter is what has resulted in the most press, as the Kansas State police asked — through their Twitter page — for any information regarding the fan who shoved the young Jayhawks’ forward.

Well roughly 24 hours after the incident, the unidentified fan decided to write an apology letter to Kansas State’s student newspaper: The Collegian.

“K-State friends,

I was the individual identified as the fan who bumped Jamari Traylor during the court storm following K-State’s victory over KU. I want to take this moment to share a sincere apology in breaking from the Wildcat way and stepping outside what is acceptable in the spirit of the game.

Following the basketball game I simply let my emotions get the best of me in all of the chaos. In my excitement I was not careful of the people I was around. I am sorry that I made the KU basketball team — Jamari Traylor in particular — feel disrespected.

By no means can I change what took place, but in the future I will be aware of how emotions can impact good judgment.

Nathan Power”

There is no word if the police would pursue criminal charges or the school disciplinary actions. Yesterday, Kansas State AD issued a formal apology to the Kansas program: “Our security staff… was unable to get into proper position quickly enough last night and was overwhelmed by the fans rushing the floor.”

As a person who likes to see a warranted court storming session, it is a moment like this that makes me understand why court storming should be banned. A university could be liable if a player or even a fan gets hurt: it is their job to make sure both sides get off the court in a safe manner. There is a reason why it has been banned on all professional levels; and though I hate to admit this, this Kansas State incident — as well as a variety of other football/basketball occurrences — shows why it might be time to prohibit it on the collegiate level.