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Editorial voice from elsewhere
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Stalling by PIAA and Wolf on fall sports leaves schools, students in limbo
The Citizen’s Voice
Aug. 7
Facing a decision of monumental importance to students, schools and parents, Gov. Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association traded punts this week.
In a press conference Thursday, Wolf announced the state would recommend, but not require, that schools postpone sports until January. That came as a shock to the PIAA board, which had already slated Monday as the beginning of the practice season for football, with other sports to start a week later. On Friday the board pushed that date back two weeks, hoping for more clarification from the governor.
It appears that each side, hoping to avoid being the Grinch that stole football, wants the other to make the logical decision — that sports can wait as school administrators wrestle with the more weighty matter of how to best and most safely educate our children in or out of the classroom.
Some districts across the state have already reached the conclusion that immediately resuming in-school classes would be too risky, so how can Wolf or the PIAA justify resuming sports, particularly contact ones such as football and field hockey?
Meanwhile, coaches, athletes, cheerleaders, band members and their families are left with one more uncertainty in very uncertain times.
Instead of putting off what is coming to seem inevitable, Wolf and the PIAA should cancel the fall schedule and devise a revised sports schedule that would allow for shortened, staggered fall, winter and spring seasons beginning in January with no overlap so multi-sport athletes would have no conflicts.
That would put Pennsylvania schools on a course to preserve athletic opportunities for students while avoiding outbreaks over the next few months, which will be critical to overcoming the COVID crisis and hopefully returning to a somewhat normal routine in 2021.
Wolf and the PIAA are not doing anyone any favors by prolonging this process.
It’s time to make a decision.