NEWTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A Newton city councilor said the Boston College football team is not taking the coronavirus pandemic seriously after a video shared on social media showed maskless players celebrating a recent victory in a tightly-packed locker room.
Video showed the team yelling loudly and jumping up and down following a 24-21 comeback win over Texas State. Players were not practicing social distancing and none of them could be seen wearing masks or face coverings.
City Councilor Alicia Bowman called out the players on Twitter following a surge of more than 100 COVID-19 cases at the college.
“As an elected official in Newton, Massachusetts, where much of the Boston College campus is located, this video upsets me,” Bowman wrote in a tweet. “BC Football players do not live in a bubble. COVID-19 is real and deadly but clearly no one here cares about that.”
In a statement, the college said that the players were tested for the virus on Friday afternoon and quarantined in a hotel room until the game on Saturday.
“Following Atlantic Coast Conference regulations, the Boston College football team is tested three times per week for COVID-19. The team was tested Friday afternoon and was quarantined in a hotel until the game on Saturday,” the team said. “The momentary, 30-second post-game celebration in the locker room involved team members who had zero positive COVID-19 tests. The team quickly returned to the COVID-19 protocols it has strictly followed, and will continue to adhere to these protocols to help ensure the safety of our team members and the well-being of the BC and neighboring communities. Since the football team returned to campus in early June, more than 3,000 tests have been administered with only one positive test.”
The college is still trying to recover from an outbreak that started soon after fall classes began. In mid-September, dozens of students were told to quarantine, including members of the swim and dive team.
Some students were told to isolate at home, while others were placed in school-sponsored housing.
Earlier this month, Gov. Charlie Baker said the state’s contact tracing team would help the college investigate and manage an outbreak.
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