Report: Syracuse Student-Athletes Hosted Maskless Off Campus Party

Details on which teams were involved have not yet emerged.

Mike McAllister | Feb 15, 2021

Report: Syracuse Student-Athletes Hosted Maskless Off Campus Party /

Syracuse University student-athletes hosted an off campus party where none of the attendees wore masks, according to a report from Citrus TV's Ricky Sayer. Sayer obtained a letter distributed from Director of Athletics John Wildhack to student-athletes, parents and head coaches.

The letter did not specify which athletic programs were involved nor if there would be any disciplinary action as a result. The letter states the following:

"Student Athletes, Parents and Head Coaches,

"I was awakened very early this morning to learn of a party that was hosted at an off-campus apartment last night by student-athletes. Syracuse Police received a noise complaint, and Syracuse University's Department of Public Safety followed up on site.

"Chief Maldonado informed me that over 50 people were in attendance at the party, and none were wearing masks.

"Let me be very clear. This behavior is unacceptable. It violates the 'Stay Safe Pledge' and jeopardizes the health of our campus community. Gatherings like these have proven to be a source of COVID-19 super-spreader events.

"I'm disappointed. For the most part, the vast majority of our student-athletes have done a tremendous job adhering to COVID-19 health protocols. That has resulted in your teams getting the chance to compete or prepare for the start of your seasons.

"Neither I nor the leadership team of Athletics will tolerate behavior which puts our Athletics community and our University at risk. Together, we've accomplished so much. With vaccines on the market and almost 15% of the Syracuse community vaccinated, better days are within reach.

"We need to recommit to each other that we will make the necessary sacrifices so our student-athletes can be on campus and we continue to compete. Let's be responsible and be true leaders.

"John."

The news comes just after Syracuse suspended a fraternity for hosting an off campus party that led to an outbreak of more than 20 COVID-19 cases. In addition to violating the Stay Safe Pledge, the party is also in violation of state health laws, which currently prohibits gatherings of more than 10 people due to the pandemic.

Published Feb 15, 2021

MIKE MCALLISTER

Title: Publisher All Syracuse Education: Roberts Wesleyan College Location: Syracuse, New York Expertise: Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting. EXPERIENCE Mike McAllister has been covering Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting for more than a decade. Mike's career started with his own free blog as a way to vent following sporting events. Shortly thereafter, a network of basketball sites called Coast 2 Coast Hoops asked him to run their Syracuse site. That site was called Nation of Orange, and Mike quickly established it as a go-to for Syracuse fans. After running Nation of Orange for several months, a position with the Syracuse site on the Scout network became available. After one year as the recruiting expert with Cuse Nation, he was named the publisher. Mike oversaw the transition from Scout to 247Sports, and ran the site on that network for years. Presented with the opportunity to join one of the biggest names in the sports journalism industry, Sports Illustrated, Mike jumped at the chance. All Syracuse was started from scratch by Mike and the Fan Nation team. It has now become a staple for Orange fans of various sports. Mike has broken news on recruiting, Syracuse basketball and football team information and has established himself as the top recruiting inside in the market. He has appeared on local radio shows, television broadcasts, national radio shows and much more. Mr. McAllister has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Information Management from Roberts Wesleyan College.