Syracuse University men’s lacrosse player Hayes McGinley will no longer face charges for punching two people on Marshall Street last month if he stays out of trouble for a year.

McGinley, a redshirt freshman midfielder, pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment in the second degree in Syracuse City Court on Tuesday afternoon.

In a statement released through his lawyer, McGinley apologized to everyone involved in the Marshall Street incident.

“I take my role as a student athlete very seriously and I pray I am given a second chance,” he said in the statement. “I am working very hard to regain respect from everyone in my life.”

McGinley, 20, was arrested on March 14 and indefinitely suspended from the lacrosse team the next day for an unspecified violation of team rules. Police said McGinley, who was drunk, tried to get into the car of an Insomnia Cookies’ delivery worker on Marshall Street. An argument ensued in which McGinley punched the delivery worker and another co-worker, police said.

After McGinley punched the delivery worker, a Sliders employee punched McGinley, knocking him to the ground. Police did not arrest the Sliders employee after determining he used force to defend another individual, which is legal in New York.

In addition to a one-year conditional discharge, McGinley must also stay away from the two people he punched for a year. Following the incident, the two victims had a full order of protection against him, which prevented him from going to Insomnia Cookies or Sliders.

At court on Tuesday, McGinley’s lawyer, Eric Jeschke, argued the order should be downgraded to a partial order of protection because McGinley doesn’t know what either of the victims look like because he was drunk during the incident. The judge granted this request and McGinley is now allowed to go to Insomnia Cookies and Sliders, but he’s “not going to,” Jeschke said.

Jeschke said he didn’t know McGinley’s status on the lacrosse team or at Syracuse University.

McGinley may also have to pay restitution to the victims for any bills they incurred because of the incident, such as hospital bills. The exact amount of the restitution will be decided at a later date, Jeschke said.

Jeschke was himself a midfielder on the SU lacrosse team in the ‘80s and played with current Syracuse lacrosse head coach John Desko’s two younger brothers. Jeschke said one of his former teammates is friends with McGinley’s father and that’s how McGinley got his name.

McGinley appeared in four games for Syracuse this season and recorded three shots. He is the nephew of actor John C. McGinley, who is best known for playing Dr. Perry Cox on the TV show “Scrubs.”

— Asst. Sports Editor Sam Blum contributed reporting to this article.

Published on April 21, 2015 at 2:57 pm

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