KSU Student Cited After Bumping Jamari Traylor While Storming Court

The subject of court storming has been brought back to the forefront following Kansas State fans rushing the floor after the Wildcats' upset over Kansas on Monday. One particular fan has bigger problems to worry about after bumping into Jayhawks forward Jamari Traylor.   

According to Kellis Robinett of The Kansas City Star, Nathan Power has received a citation from Kansas State police stemming from his actions after the Wildcats' victory. 

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K-State police identified Nathan Power as the fan who appeared to deliberately collide shoulder-first with Kansas forward Jamari Traylor as he exited the floor. Power was part of a wave of fans who ran onto the court after K-State’s 70-63 upset victory over No. 8 KU. Security could not set up in time to keep fans back from the players and coaches before they could shake hands and exit the court.

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Power was one of many fans who rushed the floor at Bramlage Coliseum, but he appeared to seek out a Kansas player—in this case, Traylor—and ran his shoulder into him. 

The good news is Traylor didn't get caught up in the heat of the moment after a difficult loss to retaliate, but it was a bad move by Power. 

After he was identified as the fan who bumped Traylor, Power wrote an apology letter that appeared in Kansas State's student newspaper Tuesday, per The Mad Manhatter:

Kansas State issued a release about Power voluntarily meeting with campus police, noting he was fully cooperative:

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Following the Feb. 23 Kansas State University basketball game in Bramlage Coliseum, a K-State student ran on the court and made contact with a University of Kansas player. On Feb. 24, Nathan Power voluntarily met with K-State police and was issued a notice to appear for disorderly conduct. Power was cooperative throughout the process, and the K-State Police Department considers this matter closed.

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Even though the matter is considered closed by Kansas State police, Power's actions will continue to bring up the topic of player safety as it pertains to fans rushing the floor. It's been thought of as a tradition in college sports, most notably in basketball and football, but it is also a potentially dangerous situation. 

Big 12 Conference Principles and Standards of Sportsmanship, Commissioner Bob Bowlsby released a statement as it pertains to Kansas State on the conference's website:

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“I am grateful for the immediate and professional engagement of the leadership at Kansas State University regarding the game management issues experienced after the game,” said Bowlsby. “Having stated that, the interaction of spectators with players, coaches, and staff members was inappropriate and unacceptable. The Kansas State Department of Athletics has a written event management policy which was unsuccessful in ensuring the safety and security of both game participants and spectators. Revisions to policies and procedures must guarantee that no future incidents occur.

“The Big 12 Conference does not currently have a policy prohibiting spectators entering playing areas of our contests. We also do not have policies governing foul language and inappropriate chants within our venues. I have asked that discussions on both of these topics be placed on the agendas for the next meetings of the ADs and of the CEOs. In the meantime, all conference institutions are reminded to reassess game management procedures in order to effectively and uniformly ensure the integrity of our contests, the security of the student-athletes and coaches, and the safety of the spectators.

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When you have hundreds of young college students rushing into a close proximity, especially one where athletes on the other team are dejected after a loss, there could be an ugly incident someday that leads to bigger problems than a citation for a player. 

Power is lucky his situation with Traylor, who did keep a level head in a situation he shouldn't have had to be in anyway, didn't end up being worse than it could have been. Celebrating a big win is one thing, but physical contact with an opposing player goes beyond anything that should be happening in that moment.