The Cameron Crazies have been known to cross the line in various ways during Duke basketball games, but nobody wants to believe they would chant what some of them are being accused of having chanted on Thursday night. NC State freshman guard Tyler Lewis lost his grandmother last Friday. He was reportedly close with her and has been taking it hard, and some people are accusing Duke fans of taunting him over it.
The chant in the video above is fairly inaudible. During Lewis’ second free throw, it certainly sounds like the fans were chanting “past your bedtime,” which was a reference to a message that was shown on the videoboard at Cameron Indoor Stadium, according to The Blue Zone. However, a number of people believe a small group of fans were taunting Lewis about the passing of his grandmother during the first free throw, and several students and fans have gone on message boards and social media sites to say that they were there and heard it.
I was sitting on press row toward the Duke entrance. No reason to demonize the student section, guys. Handful of dumb college kids.
— Nolan Evans (@RealNolanEvans) February 8, 2013
Tyler Lewis’ grandmother died last Friday. He was close to her and called her every day to check in. Duke fans chanted “How’s your grandma?”
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) February 8, 2013
While the chant in the video certainly is inconclusive, a number of commenters on The Blue Zone claim they were at the game and that it did actually happen. We know the Crazies did indeed heckle Lewis, as they reportedly chanted “Bilbo Baggins!” at him to make fun of his height (5-foot-11) earlier in the game. But joking about a lost loved one isn’t acceptable in any forum, let alone during a college basketball game. This isn’t the type of passion those alumni were calling for when they called out the Crazies.
UPDATE: The News Observer spoke to Lewis’ parents. Lewis’ father says the chant did happen, but it was from a minority of fans while the majority were doing the “bedtime” taunt.
“It was mostly ‘Past your bedtime,’ but there was an instant when a brief number of students chanted about Tyler’s grandmother,” Rick Lewis said Friday. “It wasn’t the entire student section, I think a few tried to outdo themselves.”
