Hartwick coach, players banned over fight

Hartwick College football coach Mark Carr and five unidentified players were suspended from the team Tuesday because of "unsportsmanlike behavior" in the closing minutes of the team's 41-34 loss to St. John Fisher on Saturday, the college announced Wednesday.

In response, a group of six football players who said they feel the coach and players have been wrongfully punished met with Hartwick College President Margaret Drugovich on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the suspensions. 

While the meeting was going on, a “relatively large” group of people — including roughly 90 percent of the football team, other athletics groups, faculty members and students who frequently attend the games — gathered outside of Drugovich's Yager Hall office to show support for their classmates and Carr, an organizer of the gathering told The Daily Star.

Carr and the five players were informed of the college's decision to suspend them Tuesday, said Meg Nowak, Hartwick's vice president of student affairs. The punishment is on the heels of an incident at the end of Hartwick loss at Wright Stadium.

Though it is a school punishment, the investigation was conducted by both the team and the Empire 8 Conference, officials told The Daily Star. No punishments have been handed down to St. John Fisher.

Trailing 41-34 with 29 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Hartwick had the ball on the St. John Fisher 19-yard line, but with 29 seconds remaining, quarterback John Garcia threw a pass that was intercepted by the Cardinals in the end zone. Since Hartwick only had one timeout left, the Cardinals just needed to snap the ball and kneel twice to run out the clock.  

Gene Battaglia, the announcer for ESPN Rochester's radio broadcast of the game, said he saw two hits in the final 30 seconds of the game, which sparked a fight. After the Cardinals called a timeout, their quarterback, Matt Naton, took the snap and dropped to one knee, but an undisclosed Hartwick defender came up the middle and hit Naton in a defenseless position, Battaglia said.

On that play, the Hawks were penalized for offsides and an unsportsmanlike penalty, which brought the ball to the 30-yard line, Battaglia said. The Hawks jumped offsides again to put the ball on the 35-yard line, where Naton kneeled the ball again. Hartwick then called a timeout with 13 seconds remaining.

On the final play, Battaglia said, Nanton dropped to a knee, and when he stood up, another undisclosed Hartwick defender came off the edge and hit Nanton toward the knees, and both benches cleared to begin pushing and shoving each other.

Battaglia and Garcia said they could not identify either of the Hartwick defenders who committed the penalties.

After the benches cleared and the teams were separated, Hartwick went to its locker room, Battaglia said, and campus security on site cleared out the remaining spectators. St. John Fisher was kept on the field until the stadium was empty. According to Battaglia, head referee Ken Jones and his crew left the field as the benches cleared.

Bill Ward, the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference field director of football officials, declined to comment Wednesday on the actions of the referee and did not say whether a formal report was filed.

There were multiple unsportsmanlike fouls throughout the game, Battaglia said. Both teams committed offsetting penalties in the first and third quarter, and Hartwick committed another unsportsmanlike foul in the third.

Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano said the actions of both teams were reviewed.

“We fully support the actions being taken by Hartwick,” he told The Daily Star on Wednesday. “The actions of both institutions are being acted upon.”

Jesse Navarrete, one of the football players who met with Drugovich, told The Daily Star that he helped organize Wednesday's demonstration, wherein those in support of the suspended players and Carr were asked to gather outside of Drugovich's office at about 1:15 p.m.

Navarrete said he sent out a message via Facebook late Tuesday night asking his fellow students to show their support at the protest and wear Hartwick-related attire. The post has been shared almost 100 times and has garnered numerous comments, including "sad day to be a Hawk," "the softness of the Hartwick administration is sickening," and "Stand your ground Jesse and team mates!"

Nowak said she and the college's director of athletics, Kim Fierke, were also at the meeting with Drugovich. The students had asked to meet with the president, Nowak said.

The large group that gathered outside of Drugovich's office was not disruptive, Nowak said, and participants were obviously showing “that they are in support of the conversation that was being had."

Nowak said the decision to suspend Carr and the five players was “by the college and not by one person.” Drugovich has offered to meet with the entire student body to discuss the situation, according to Nowak, but no plans have been set.

Voicemails and email messages left for Drugovich were not returned, and David Lubell, the college's media relations manager, said he had “nothing to add” to an earlier announcement, which was posted on the school's athletic department website.

"We were disheartened to determine a small group of our players chose to engage in conduct that does not reflect the values and spirit of the College and our athletic department," Fierke said in the statement. "From the initial report, we took these allegations seriously, acted quickly to address them, and will be disciplining the players and coaching staff we found to be at fault.”

Hartwick (3-6) is out of playoff contention and has one game remaining on its schedule, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Utica College. According to Garcia and other Hartwick players, the team did not practice Tuesday or Wednesday and no coach has been named to replace Carr for his suspension.

Calls to Fierke, Carr, St. John Fisher head coach Paul Vosburgh and St. John Fisher athletic director Bob Ward were not returned Wednesday.

According to Navarrete, the final moments of the game were captured on camera, which he said provides “clear evidence of what happened that day.” He posted a video of the moment along with his call for students to gather.

“Now because of the events that unfolded our well-respected leader and coach, Coach Carr, is under a school-imposed two-game suspension,” Navarrete wrote. “He can be clearly seen in his white visor controlling the line between the Hartwick and Fisher athletes. If not for him, this day could have ended in tragedy.”

“Our school administration has turned its back on their students, especially athletics for a long time now,” Navarrete continued. “This is the last straw, and we refuse to roll over and take yet another unjust punishment."