GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — The brother of LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson was arrested and charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct by the Greenville Police Department for his role in a fight after his sister was shoved to the court by South Carolina forward Kamilla Cardoso during a Southeastern Conference Tournament game.
Trayron Milton, 24, jumped over the scorer’s table to reach the court. Police say Milton made his way to the court Sunday by pushing down an SEC employee and stepping on her shoulders to get past.
Milton briefly made contact with Cardoso before he was led away by police.
Milton was released from jail Monday on bonds of $1,087.50 for each charge. Both charges are considered misdemeanors under South Carolina law. Each carries a potential penalty of 30 days in jail, a fine or both.
College basketball has come under fire, both the men’s and women’s games, for court-storming where fans rush the court to celebrate their team’s success — even before the opposing team’s players, coaches and personnel can exit to the locker room.
NCAA all-time leading scorer Caitlin Clark of Iowa was knocked down after colliding with a fan after the Hawkeyes fell at Ohio State in January. Duke forward Kyle Filipowski had to be helped off the court after getting caught in a swarm of Wake Forest fans celebrating the Demon Deacons 83-79 victory last month.
Calls for change and tighter security for opposing teams have come after each of those incidents. Duke coach Jon Scheyer wanted immediate action after Filipowski was hurt.
“You can try to do a zero tolerance policy but how are you going to enforce that?” said Brandon Allen, director of research for the National Center for Sports Safety and Security. “And what does that look like?”
Of the six major basketball conferences, four fine host schools for a first offense of failure to keep fans off the court. The ACC does not levy fines and the Big Ten waits until a third offense.
In Greenville, police and security worked quickly to de-escalate the situation. Milton made it over the barrier and scorer’s table and shoved Cardoso’s back before the officer stepped in to lead him away.
The police statement said two other people made it over from the stands to the scorer’s table, but were quickly confronted by authorities and prevented from going further.
Cardoso was ejected for fighting and three of her teammates were thrown out for leaving the bench area. Two LSU players who logged minutes in the game were also sent off. South Carolina finished the game with six players and LSU five.
Afterward, the six Gamecocks celebrated their eighth championship in the past 10 years without the four sent to the locker room.
According to NCAA rules, Cardoso will miss South Carolina’s next game, which will be its opener in the NCAA Tournament.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
