By Paul Cifonelli
The SUNY Brockport men’s soccer program was interim suspended on Saturday night, pending the outcome of an investigation, as a result of possible COVID-19 policy violations, SUNY Brockport President Heidi Macpherson wrote in an email to students and faculty Sunday morning. The program has reportedly been suspended for two weeks. The men’s soccer program is now the second since classes have started up to be suspended, as the wrestling program suffered the same fate after a player tested positive for COVID-19.
Possible policy violations were reported to Macpherson by Brockport police, after a gathering that reportedly had over 50 people in attendance. Nobody at the gathering was wearing masks or socially distancing. However, there were no citations given by police.
“I was extremely disappointed to learn of the activities that led to these interim suspensions,” Macpherson wrote. “The vast majority of our students are following the proper COVID-19 precautions, and we cannot allow the health and safety of our community to be jeopardized by the inappropriate and potentially dangerous actions of a few individuals. If we want to complete the semester in a healthy environment, everyone must all follow the rules and guidelines created to protect us.”
SUNY Brockport head men’s soccer coach Gary LaPietra issued an apology for the actions of his players.
“I’m disappointed that our players acted unprofessionally, and I’d like to apologize to the Brockport community,” LaPietra said. “We’ve been preaching a clear message and the guys understood exactly what the repercussions were going to be. Unfortunately, for their poor decisions, they’re going to have to face the consequences that are going to be handed down to them. But there were multiple players who made the right choice and I want it to be known that the whole team was not a part of this.”
In addition to the team’s suspension, six students are also receiving interim suspensions. The team is not to have any more meetings, including practices, meetings or workouts. The only team event the players are allowed to attend is the college’s COVID-19 pool testing.
