Spring Break
Renee Boozer files suit versus UMd for negligence
By: Greg Pessin
Last update: 1/18/06 at 11:36 AM EST
- Page 1 of 1
At a Wednesday University of Maryland Student Government Association meeting, Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow announced she had received a letter from attorneys for Boozer, the mother of men's basketball player Carlos, stating that she would sue the school for negligence.
Renee Boozer could not be reached for comment last night.
After the men's basketball team's miraculous comeback over the Terrapins Jan. 27, members of the Maryland student section showered guests of the Duke team with bottles, batteries and coins. Boozer was struck in the head with a full water bottle, sustained a mild concussion, had to be treated on the scene and needed help leaving the stadium.
Since the incident, University of Maryland police and administrators have used video footage during their investigation. According to the Maryland Diamondback, Yow said at Wednesday's student government meeting that officials estimate 100 items were thrown at the Duke families in the 50 most intense seconds of the barrage.
"This was the real deal," the Terrapin athletic director said, "nothing like I've ever seen here."
Vivian Harper, mother of Duke guard Chris Duhon, reported that only seconds after the final buzzer sounded, 13 of the 15 police officers and stadium officials guarding the Duke guests fled, leaving the families defenseless against the hailstorm of debris that was falling on them.
One of the two police officers ordered them to crouch on the floor until it was safe to escort them to the players' exit.
Yow said Wednesday that Boozer was set to review the tapes yesterday, when police would begin trying to identify the perpetrators, including the person who threw the bottle at her.
She said the suit alleges negligence because Maryland allowed fans it knew were dangerous to sit close to the court.
Maryland fans have a history of violence at games; specifically, two years ago, Maryland fans got into a fist-fight with the family of Nate James after they showered Duke fans with ice and soda throughout the game.
The Atlantic Coast Conference investigated the incident, but neither the conference nor the school took any substantive action. Yow even dismissed the event as isolated and as a part of sports. Maryland coach Gary Williams has been roundly criticized since then for not doing enough to control the crowds.
But after the Jan. 27 game, Yow, Williams and university president C.B. Mote each wrote open letters to the student body condemning the violence and promising policy changes. By the week's end, they had banned students from throwing newspapers on the court and from sitting in the 10 rows of seats behind the visitors' bench, and they had ordered the pep band to stop playing a popular tune to which students often sing allegedly vulgar lyrics.
Duke athletic director Joe Alleva said last night that the suit could raise questions for many universities that give students seating priority.
"It's a fear that we all have of a fan doing something like that," he said, emphasizing Duke's policy of ejecting and permanently prohibiting from Cameron Indoor Stadium any fan who throws an object.
Alleva praised Duke's fans for restraining themselves after the loss to North Carolina last week, when Tar Heel fans began celebrating at center court. "We really have relied a lot on [Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski] talking to students to make sure they don't do anything," Alleva added.
Brody Greenwald contributed to this story.
