Aug 6, 2020 2 min read

LOUISVILLE (AP) – The University of Louisville has dismissed three men’s soccer players and suspended three others as discipline for their roles in an off-campus party last weekend that resulted in 29 positive tests for COVID-19 and four sports being paused.

Multiple other student-athletes from those teams were forced to quarantine as a result of being in contact with people who tested positive.

A release on Thursday did not mention the players disciplined but stated that the three dismissed were primarily responsible for organizing the party. All three had prior team violations, the release added. Men’s soccer coach John Michael Hayden that “They have demonstrated with their actions now and previously that they do not echo the culture of this program.”

Louisville on Wednesday paused workouts for men’s and women’s soccer, field hockey and volleyball following the positive tests among members of those programs. Others that may have been exposed are quarantined because of contact tracing.

Athletic director Vince Tyra had warned that dismissal was an option and said he supported Hayden’s decision. He added, “Ignoring the safety protocols issued by federal, state and local officials, as well as the athletic department, is unacceptable and dangerous.”

Tyra did not give a breakdown of how many players tested positive in each sport, but did say that the men’s soccer program was “the leader in the clubhouse.”