PIAA’s pass-the-buck strategy an unhealthy way to conduct business
When it had the chance to do the right thing last week, the PIAA displayed an utter lack of responsibility.
After ignoring calls from the Pennsylvania Principals Association to suspend winter sports, the state’s governing body for interscholastic athletics was determined to push ahead with Friday’s start of the winter sports season.
PIAA executive director Dr. Robert Lombardi poopooed the science and data. It’s eminently true that Pennsylvania is experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases and deaths, something infectious disease specialists have predicted for months. To make matters worse, it’s cold outside and people tend to gather indoors this time of year. You don’t have to be Dr. Anthony Fauci to know that such gatherings are a recipe for disaster.
Yet Lombardi and his trusty Board of Directors, who convened for their all-systems-go meeting last Wednesday, downplayed the truth that was slapping them in the face. Lombardi said the only way the PIAA would suspend winter sports was if the government imposed stiffer restrictions on indoor gatherings.
In Delaware Coiunty, the idea of beginning winter sports on time had been rendered moot. Back in late November, the Delaware County Council imposed mitigation efforts to further prevent the spread of the virus by limiting indoor gatherings to 10 people. On Thursday, Gov. Tom Wolf implemented that same numerical strategy for the entire state, spoiling the PIAA’s plan to begin the winter campaign on Friday.
By now, it’s no longer news. All K-12 sports (i.e. practices and games) are put on hold until at least Monday, Jan. 4, which would be the first day back from the holiday break for most studentathletes throughout the Commonwealth.
You can take Lombardi and the PIAA at their word, that above everything, their goal was to provide schools with “flexibility” for the winter season. Similar to the fall season, the PIAA is allowing schools to make their own call on just about everything, from choosing whether to participate in the regular season or district playoffs, to setting policies about wearing protective masks.
The PIAA passed measures – good ones, indeed – to limit the number of state playoff qualifiers in all winter sports, both individual and team events. And the PIAA is providing schools with the chance to schedule regular season games until March 27, the final date for winter state championships.
“I think the extension of the season provides every school the flexibility they may need to accommodate their needs,” Lombardi said Wednesday. “If they want to go slow, they can. If they want to go moderate, they can. If they want to start the season later, they can. I think it was an excellent decision by the board to extend the season. Counting the postseason, it’s almost 16 weeks. That’s longer, I think, than any season we’ve ever had. And if there’s a shutdown, we can adjust.”
That’s nice to know, but what the PIAA didn’t do was delay the season when it had the chance, for fear that angry parents would bombard them with scathing emails. Instead, the PIAA provided high schools with another road map, and if things happened to go wrong, the schools could pull out, just like in the fall. But, hey ... don’t point the finger at them.
Put simply, the PIAA showed once again that it didn’t want to be the bad guy. The same thing happened in August when it played the blame game with Gov. Wolf, who also showed a lack of decision-making prowess during this time. Perhaps it’s only a coincidence that Wolf’s announcement came less than 24 hours after last week’s PIAA decision to keep trudging along like nothing’s going on. But it is foolish to think the PIAA isn’t cognizant of its public image.
They were and are trying to save face.
“I still think the only wrong decision would be to not at least try,” Lombardi said.
That was an admirable take back in July and August, when the weather was nice and social distancing for outdoor events was achievable. Today, it’s an irresponsible comment to make, considering the circumstances.
Make no mistake, fall sports was an overall success. When an athlete or coach tested positive for coronavirus, teams shut everything down for 14 days. Such instances ultimately cost the Cardinal O’Hara and Sun Valley football teams their seasons, but they handled everything the right way. The Central League, of which Delco has nine members, had nary a coronavirus case as 98
percent of athletic events on all levels — freshman, JV and varsity — were played without delays. Central League athletic directors, coaches and athletes deserve plaudits for a job well-done this fall.
The winter’s going to be a lot trickier.
Of Gov. Wolf’s newest mandates, the PIAA released a statement on Friday saying in part: “We all collectively must be diligent in following mitigation efforts in order for a successful return to the season.” Because the PIAA failed to act sooner, those comments after
the fact ring hollow and meaningless.
Let’s hope everyone this holiday season will heed the advice of experts and get this thing under control. Hopefully, there will be winter sports.
The state made the unpopular decision to hit the pause button on indoor athletics, leaving the people whose job it is to oversee the safety of Pennsylvania’s high school athletes to frown and shrug their shoulders.