Three Louisville Soccer Players Dismissed for Role in COVID-19 Outbreak
Three members of the University of Louisville men's soccer program have been dismissed from the team and three other team members have been suspended following their role in an off-campus party that led to 29 positive COVID-19 cases and a temporary shutdown of four fall sports, per a release from the university.
"I'm extremely disappointed in these young men and particularly with the three that have been dismissed," head coach John Michael Hayden said in a release. "They have demonstrated with their actions now and previously that they do not echo the culture of this program. Our student-athletes are held to a high standard of conduct as representatives of our program and university."
According to the university, the three student-athletes that were dismissed each had prior team violations and were the ones primarily responsible for organizing a party on Saturday night.
As a result, eight student-athletes tested positive for COVID-19 during routine testing on Monday, with that number increasing to 29 across four sports following contact tracing. Louisville then suspended all team-related activities for two weeks in men's and women's soccer, field hockey and volleyball on Wednesday.
"I fully support John Michael's decision," Louisville Athletic Director Vince Tyra said in a release. "It is clear that these student-athletes did not meet the code of conduct of the university or their team. Ignoring the safety protocols issued by federal, state and local officials, as well as the athletic department, is unacceptable and dangerous. Their history of actions are not in alignment with the values of this university and athletics department."
In a teleconference Wednesday, Tyra stated that consequences could arise if if student-athletes continue to test positive because of willful negligence.
“There is code of conduct issues. If you have repeat offenders that continue to ignore any team policies, we always have the option of discipline up to dismissal," Tyra said.
The affected student-athletes remain in quarantine.
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