An Ohio State fan ran onto the court to celebrate the victory, accidentally colliding with Caitlin Clark and causing her to be knocked down.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Following No. 2 Iowa’s upset by No. 18 Ohio State on Sunday, Caitlin Clark reassured everyone that she was fine after accidentally being knocked down by a fan who ran onto the court. The Hawkeyes star, while exiting the court with her head down, collided with a female fan attempting to capture the on-court celebration, resulting in Clark falling under one of the baskets. Personnel and teammates quickly rushed to her aid.
Recalling the incident after the 100-92 overtime loss, Clark stated, “I was just trying to exit the court as quickly as possible, so I started running and I was absolutely just hammered by somebody trying to run onto the court. Basically blindsided and, you know, kind of scary, could have caused a pretty serious injury to me and knocked the wind out of me. But luckily my teammates kind of picked me up and got me off the court. Their AD already came and apologized to me, so I really appreciate that.”
In response to the incident, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith personally apologized to Clark and Iowa coach Lisa Bluder, while Buckeyes coach Kevin McGuff issued his own apology.
Although Clark did not mention it, Bluder revealed that her star player, who scored 45 points in the game, was also subjected to harassment while leaving the court. A visibly upset Bluder expressed disappointment, stating, “You know, it’s unfortunate the game ended that way and Caitlin gets taken out on the floor. Gets some inappropriate words yelled at her by fans, by students. That just should not happen, it should not happen. Our players should be safe, they should be able to walk off the floor. That’s very disappointing.”
The game, witnessed by more than 18,000 people, marked the highest attendance ever for a women’s basketball game at Ohio State. Following the Buckeyes’ 100-92 overtime victory, fans breached security and streamed onto the court.
Reflecting on the unfortunate incident, McGuff remarked, “(Clark) had such a spectacular performance today, and she’s such a great player and that should never happen. And so I feel really badly about it and hopefully it doesn’t affect her moving forward. But that is extremely unfortunate.”
