© Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images
The Duke basketball team fell to ACC rival Clemson last weekend, 77-71. The home crowd quickly stormed the court after the upset.
As fans rushed onto the floor, the Blue Devils did their best to leave the venue without incident. While Jon Scheyer succeeded in getting his team to the locker room safely, the exit wasn’t completely drama-free.
The Clemson students’ section emptied near the Duke bench as fans made their way to midcourt. A few of those court stormers confronted the Blue Devils before moving on to celebrate with the Tigers.
Jon Scheyer pushes Clemson fan. @NCAA pic.twitter.com/ayQLE7rqNi
— Adrian Peterson (@smokepotfukhoes) February 10, 2025
Scheyer and his staff defended their turf by getting physical. New video shows him going after an opposing fan that got a little too close for comfort. He tossed the student like a rag doll after being approached on the sidelines.
Coach K would never! #ClemsonGRIT @barstoolsports @BarstoolClemson @BarstoolBDevils pic.twitter.com/d6ZGPVKMJY
— Bud Riser (@Bud_Riser03) February 11, 2025
A few days after the game, the head coach recalled the scene. He referenced an “unsafe environment” in his reasoning for pushing the fan.
“It was a tough situation… The officials tried to stop the rush for just a second, just so we could get our players off the court. I think [Clemson] should rush, but we’ve got to be able to get our players off the court safely. That wasn’t a safe environment…
“I was put in a position where I shielded our guys from people running up and getting in their face. We don’t want something to happen before we make a decision to do something… I’m concerned for our players’ safety.”
-Jon Scheyer
Jon Scheyer wanted to Clemson to celebrate after taking down the No. 2 team in college basketball. He also wanted to get his squad off the court safely before those festivities kicked off. He did his part to separate players and fans in the chaos. It will be interesting to see if the ACC has any response to the new footage.