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Starting DB, DE among 3 stabbed Orangemen players were outside bar hours after defeat
Posted: Tuesday November 02, 1999 10:02 AM
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Suddenly, football wasn't such a big deal Monday to the Syracuse Orangemen. They had more pressing matters to consider. "It's hard to concentrate on anything right now," co-captain Keith Bulluck said as teammate David Byrd lay in a hospital bed just down the road, the victim of a vicious stabbing early Sunday. "Some things are more important than football." Byrd and two teammates were among five people stabbed during an altercation that happened around 1 a.m. in front of Sadie's Place bar, a well-known trouble spot on the city's west side. Byrd, a 21-year-old senior defensive back from Schenectady, N.Y., underwent several hours of surgery after being stabbed five times in the neck and back. He was upgraded Monday to serious condition in the intensive care unit at University Hospital. Also hurt were junior defensive end Duke Pettijohn, 22, of Mattapan, Mass., and sophomore reserve lineman Giovanni DeLoatch, 20, of Teaneck, N.J. Pettijohn was treated Sunday at St. Joseph's Hospital for cuts to his body and head and released. DeLoatch, who was admitted to St. Joseph's with similar injuries, was released Monday, head coach Paul Pasqualoni said. A fourth victim, Myles Thomas, of Boston, a friend of one of the players, remained in critical condition at University Hospital, a hospital administrator said. Pasqualoni, who spent much of Sunday shuttling between the two hospitals, said doctors told him that Byrd would make a full recovery. Although Pasqualoni tried to switch the focus to Saturday's game here against Temple, it was a hard sell. "I'm kind of shocked," senior receiver Jeff Lowe, who grew up in Syracuse, said. "It's a big emotional blow. It's hard to understand how people could do something like that. We have to somehow come together." Police said the fight involved 60 to 75 people, and it remained unclear what triggered the violence. Pasqualoni said he was aware of the bar's bad reputation and that certain places were off-limits to the team. He would not elaborate. "We try to encourage the kids to always act appropriately," Pasqualoni said. "Behavior is very, very important. We're very proud of our life skills program and we work a great deal on it. I'm upset if they're around those places in the offseason. In this day and age, there's just a greater chance that crazy things will happen. But these are young adults. At some point, they have to take some responsibility for their actions." The violence erupted less than 10 hours after Syracuse's 24-23 loss to Boston College, a big underdog, in the Carrier Dome. Police said that at least 15 people either on the team or friends of players and about a dozen people connected with a gang called "Boot Camp" were at Sadie's Place at the time of the stabbings. Two silver knives with four-inch blades were recovered at the scene, police said. Two city men were arraigned Monday in connection with the incident. Cheiron Thomas, 17, was charged with first-degree gang assault and second-degree assault; Trequill Stackhouse, 22, was charged with first-degree gang assault and first-degree assault. Each was being held at Onondaga County Justice Center on $50,000 bond. Meanwhile, Syracuse Mayor Roy Bernardi said the city was pushing to shut down Sadie's Place because of its history of violence. "This particular establishment has outlived its number of chances to turn itself around," Bernardi said. "They need to review their clientele and how they operate their business." Both Bernardi and Police Chief John Falge expressed concern that the bar is managed by Onondaga County Sheriff's Deputy Walter Blake, who was present during the melee and did nothing to stop it. "I can't even begin to understand why he didn't intervene. These men were viciously attacked," said Bernardi, who considered the attack attempted murder.
Bernardi and Falge said disciplinary action should be taken against Blake, but that decision was Sheriff Kevin Walsh's. Falge said additional arrests would be made. He said there was no indication that the players started the fight or had weapons.
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