Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer doesn’t want to get into it, but he also wants you to know that he’s fully capable of getting into it.
Scheyer is still a bit miffed about the aftermath of Duke’s 71-68 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels in early February.
It’s not so much the result, though it stings anytime you lose to your biggest rival. Moreso, Scheyer was upset because he believed that some of his staff were assaulted on the court as UNC fans stormed it when the final buzzer went off.
Jeff Nieman, the district attorney of Orange County and, notably, a North Carolina graduate, looked into Scheyer’s claims, and on Monday, he took to social media to dispute the Duke head coach.
“A week has passed, and what seemed likely is now patently obvious. There is zero evidence that anyone from Duke’s basketball program was ‘punched in the face’ at the Smith Center last week,” Nieman wrote on X. “Nor is there any evidence that a staffer was ‘trampled on the floor’ or ‘in a complete brawl,’ for that matter. Some have asked why I’m talking about this. It’s certainly not because of a sports rivalry. That’s no business of the DA’s Office. But I’ve seen firsthand how reckless accusations of violence incite more violence, and that is my business.
“Someone with the power and influence of a major men’s basketball coach should exercise more discretion before just saying things that can have real-world consequences.”