FSU Football Coach Fitzgerald, Staff Violate COVID-19 Social Compact

The Annual Frostburg Football Golf Tournament, a university-sanctioned event, was held on Saturday, Sept. 19 at Rocky Gap Casino Resort. The event was previously planned for June 5-6, but was rescheduled due to the pandemic.

The event attracted approximately 90 participants according to a photo posted to Twitter by Head Coach DeLane L. Fitzgerald. In the group shot, only one person is wearing a face covering or mask. Coach DeLane tagged a number of official Frostburg social media accounts in the post dated Sept. 20 at 1:18 p.m., as well, including Frostburg Sports, Frostburg State University, President Ronald H. Nowacyk, and the Frostburg Alumni Association.

Though events of this size are permitted by order of Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, an Executive Order issued on July 29, 2020 requires that face coverings be worn outdoors when people are “unable to consistently maintain at least six feet of distance from individuals who are not members of their household.” The approximate distance between the attendees of the golf tournament appears to range between six inches and two feet.

In addition to Governor Hogan’s orders, all members of the FSU community are required to abide by the “FSU Social Compact,” a document developed by the university administration that lays out expectations for behavior in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Some of the requirements listed in the compact include:

• Wear a cloth or medical face mask when indoors in the presence of others or during outdoor activities where physical or social distancing is not possible.
• Limit travel for essential purposes and avoid crowded transmission hotspots or super-spreader events.
• Follow guidelines established by Frostburg State University, the University System of Maryland, the State of Maryland, and federal recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It is unknown the furthest distance that an attendee of the Frostburg Football Golf Tournament traveled in order to participate in the event, now in its 13th year. The event description on the Frostburg Football Camps website says, “come out and see your college teammates, support your college team.” It does not appear that the Frostburg Football Golf Tournament was considered “essential travel.”

Adherence to the FSU Social Compact has been repeatedly stressed to students throughout the semester and real penalties have been doled out to those who have been found in violation. One day prior to the golf tournament on Sept. 19, Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Artie Lee Travis, wrote to the student body to report that the Dean of Students Carl Crowe and others in his department had “been very busy addressing violations of the Code of Student Conduct and the Social Compact.” Furthermore, Travis said that, “those found in violation risk being placed on interim suspension, removed from classes and the residents halls and, possibly, from the university.”

As a segue to discuss off-campus events, Travis wrote, “this past weekend we experience a couple of gatherings off campus that were brought to our attention. As a result of the violations this weekend, we have a student on interim suspension, students banned from the campus until the produce negative COVID-19 test results, students placed on probation, and others waiting for conduct hearings.”

The FSU Social Compact guidance says that if faculty and staff members “egregiously fail to comply with their responsibilities expressed in the social compact and compromises the safety and well-being of others, a written record of the facts should be communicated to your supervisor.” Unlike the student body, faculty and staff penalties for violating the Social Compact are not explicitly outlined.

The Frostburg Football team had a roster that swelled over 100 players in the 2019 season. In addition to Coach Fitzgerald, the team’s official page lists 12 assistant coaches. The Mountain East Conference decided in August 2020 to postpone official game play until the spring semester but a schedule of matches has yet to be announced.