Even more historic, now that we are into February for Black History Month, the school will forever be known as having produced the first black player drafted in the NBA, basketball Hall of Famer Chuck Cooper by the Boston Celtics in 1950.
During the Dukes’ home game against Loyola Chicago back on January 26, a student pulled off a prank in the middle of a game that made the school question their security policy, while also exposing the change in society since the pandemic began three years ago.
An UberEats delivery driver was found walking on the court in the middle of play to make a delivery to a fan. The man was found a short time later walking around the concourse still trying to make the delivery after play was halted.
The Ramblers’ Assistant Athletic Director, Austin Hansen, was reported by ESPN to claim the stunt was a prank after seeing a number of students following the deliverer with their phones, and the man wearing a microphone.
We know that Door Dash, UberEats and GrubHub boast being able to deliver food anywhere at any time. Whether or not they actually check that they picked up the correct order is an entirely different discussion. Hell, I would be fine just once with the right order showing up to my office, and not smelling of weed.
Would you not think they would call the person ordering when they found they had pulled up to a sports arena with security guards at all entrance points?
We all see multiple times per game of how rabid fans can get in the student section of college basketball and football fans. Duke has a name for theirs in men’s basketball with the “Cameron Crazies”. LSU had to dramatically heighten security following an incredible influx of male fans for their women’s gymnastics. Junior all-around competitor Olivia Dunne has amassed a very large following from her exposure on TikTok and Instagram, where she has 9.3 million followers combined.
Dunne is the most followed NCAA athlete on social media, and also the highest paid, drawing in over a reported $1 million in NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) royalties.
I am still wondering how someone got a full McDonald’s bag inside the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, despite only 1,964 in attendance. If anything, this would have been an even larger red flag for security, as there were not very many fans to screen coming in. Even when I attended an All Elite Wrestling live televised event on the campus of Cleveland State University last summer, there was extensive screening for the 9,000 in attendance.
Nothing new has really been reported since the morning after the prank took place, including the identity of the driver who may have been in on the whole thing. Even with smaller crowds and limited concessions being open, the building would have prevented the man from entering with food from an outside source, along with getting that close to the court. I know from first-hand experience that many hockey arenas have you wait until there is a stoppage in play before returning to your seat to avoid interfering with the view of other fans, but also the dangers of a puck potentially flying into the seats from any angle.
Hopefully the few extra clicks on social media were worth either suspension or expulsion from the school, or criminal mischief if he was not a student. I also do not see this being added to next year’s media guide as a highlight or footnote of game recaps.
-JC24