Some stories won’t go away and after it seems like the controversy behind the UNC court storming after its last-second win over Duke was finally over before the Orange County District Attorney riled things up again.
Jeff Neiman, a North Carolina graduate, tweeted on Monday afternoon that he further investigated Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer’s claim that a member of his staff was punched in the face and trampled as the Tar Heel students rushed the floor.
“There is zero evidence that anyone from Duke’s basketball program was ‘punched in the face’ at the Smith Center last week. Nor is there any evidence that a staffer was ‘trampled on the floor’ or ‘in a complete brawl’, for that matter,” he posted on X.
“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.”
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. Nor is there any evidence that a staffer was “trampled on the floor” or “in a complete…
— DA Jeff Nieman (@JeffNiemanNC) February 16, 2026
Following Duke’s 101-64 win over Syracuse on Monday, Scheyer was asked about the DA’s comments, and he fired back at Neiman, confirming what he said in Chapel Hill following his team’s loss.
“I know what I saw, and I know what happened with our staff after the game, and that's the bottom line,” Scheyer explained.
He added that he hadn’t seen the post from Jeff Neiman and the details it contained.
“I know what happened and I’m always going to support our staff being in those situations, and, again, I could’ve even said more and I’m not going to do that. We’re moving on.”
Duke's Scheyer responds to Orange County DA: pic.twitter.com/BRvrKuWGf3
— Brian Murphy (@murphsturph) February 17, 2026
There were no punishments given to UNC for the alleged incident other than a $50,000 fine for storming the court. In fact, there were two court stormings in the game after officials had to put 0.4 seconds back on the clock after Seth Trimble’s 3-pointer.
The floor had to be cleared so the Blue Devils could inbound the ball and attempt a game tying 3-pointer but once that chance missed, the fans returned to the floor.
Since, Duke has won three straight games and is preparing for a showdown