Newton City Councilor Alicia Bowman is criticizing a video of the Boston College football team celebrating after its win on Saturday. In the video, members of the football team are singing in the locker room without masks.
In a press conference on Tuesday, head BC football coach Jeff Hafley responded to the criticism the team received for the celebration in the video.
“I got caught up in the moment,” Hafley said. “It was an emotional game, and I got back in the locker room, and I should’ve had my mask on, and I should have had the players have their masks on. As safe as we feel when we just got tested, I’ll learn from it, and I’ll take responsibility for it.”
Senior Associate Athletics Director for Communications Jason Baum tweeted Monday that only one BC football student-athlete has tested positive for COVID-19 since the team returned to campus in late June.
The football team is currently following ACC guidelines from August, which involves testing players once a week.
“It seems that BC is willing to admit they took a break from COVID-19 protocols to celebrate, which does not seem wise,” Bowman said in an email to The Heights.
In her tweets, Bowman noted that the NCAA recommends that student-athletes and staff should consider minimizing time spent in crowded environments.
“I would also add that it seems like BC football worked hard to not have any COVID cases,” Bowman tweeted. “Why risk that for a few minutes of celebration that could have been done outside or at least with masks on if they were going to be inside?”
Bowman said in her email to The Heights that some people negatively responded to her tweet on social media and by email, saying that the team can celebrate in this way because they had all been tested.
Bowman also said that more people responded positively than negatively to her tweet—and that Brighton residents, BC students, and student-athletes were among those who responded positively.
“So hopefully my tweet had a positive effect in helping BC see the unnecessary risk they put players in,” Bowman said in the email. “I hope that there are many future celebrations for the Eagles and that they will be done so following COVID protocols for the safety of the players and the safety of the broader community.”
Featured Image by Jess Rivilis/Heights Editor
