Duke's Grayson Allen suspended for tripping Elon player
DURHAM, North Carolina (WTVD) -- Duke has suspended Grayson Allen indefinitely after the guard intentionally stuck out his leg and tripped an Elon player Wednesday night, an incident for which he later apologized.
It marked the third time Allen has intentionally tripped an opposing player in the last year.
On Wednesday night in Greensboro, Allen was defending Elon's Steven Santa Ana late in the first half, with the Blue Devils ahead. Santa Ana drove past him on the baseline, and Allen stuck his right leg out, sending Santa Ana to the floor.
"As a program, we needed to take further steps regarding his actions that do not meet the standards of Duke Basketball," Krzyzewski said in a statement Thursday morning. "To that end, we have determined that Grayson will be suspended from competition for an indefinite amount of time."
Allen was assessed a technical foul for the trip. He became overly emotional on the bench after he found out about the technical.
Mike Krzyzewski said that after the game, a hard-fought 72-61 Duke victory, that Allen apologized to Santa Ana and Elon coach Mike Matheny during a meeting the Blue Devils coach set up for the four.
"I made a really bad play. I'm sorry to him, Santa Ana," said Allen, a junior. "I'm sorry to the officials who had to call that. I'm sorry to my team. It was selfish and taking away from them. I'm not proud of that at all."
Krzyzewski called the incident "unacceptable" and noted, "the right thing to do was apologize in person."
After the technical, Allen went to the bench for the remainder of the first half, which Elon closed with an 11-2 run. He started the second half on the bench and returned to the game with about 16 minutes remaining, finishing the night with three points.
"That's a bad thing that he did tonight," Krzyzewski said in reference to Allen. "But the fact that then we had to be distracted by it all and his team, that added to it, and that's what he's really down about. He can't believe that he did that. For him, he would die for his team. Here, he let his team down tonight. That's a big punishment for him and he knows it.
"These things happen and I'm responsible for that kid. I love that kid. A lot of crap has happened to him and a lot of bad shots at him. That doesn't mean it's right for you to try and get back. Don't pay attention to it, but pay attention to the fact that you did something wrong and you let your team down."
Allen spoke to ESPN at length before the season and expressed remorse about the two tripping incidents a year ago: one on Louisville's Ray Spalding on Feb. 8; and another on Florida State's Xavier Rathan-Mayes on Feb. 25.
"I think ultimately, I just made a mistake -- two mistakes -- and they were big ones and mistakes I regret," Allen said to ESPN. "Ultimately, I let my emotions get the most of me -- in the heat of the moment, you know, did something that's unacceptable and not something I'm proud of. I think I'm a lot more mature now."
After the incident against the Seminoles on Feb. 25, the ACC said it would not suspend Allen, but it did reprimand the star Blue Devils player.
Asked whether he was worried about a suspension Wednesday, Allen replied, "That's out of my control. I can't worry about something out of my control now."
An ACC official told ESPN on Thursday morning that the league will review the matter and that the ACC, even though it wasn't a conference game, does have the jurisdiction to penalize Allen further if deemed warranted.
ESPN contributed to this report.
