Move comes a day after lawsuit settlement in San Diego
The California Department of Public Health released updated youth sports guidelines Thursday night that will require expansive testing procedures to immediately play indoor sports such as basketball.
The new guidelines were a result of the settlement of a lawsuit in San Diego, where a Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order against the state’s restrictive measures, clearing the way for all sports in San Diego County to take place if schools follow similar procedures and protocols used by college and pro teams. Now those procedures have been adopted statewide.
While lawyers, coaches and athletes associated with the San Diego County lawsuit held a celebratory news conference on Thursday lauding the settlement, there remains obstacles to overcome for indoor sports to be held on a wide scale in the coming weeks.
The procedures and guidelines released are contradictory, if not confusing. There are conflicting instructions on mask requirements during competitions. One administrator said he read the updated guidelines three times and still wasn’t certain what they meant.
California Interscholastic Federation executive director Ron Nocetti is expected to seek clarification from the state health department.
One ominous development pointed out by Chris Fore of the California Coaches Association, is that some public schools might decline to resume indoor sports because of liability concerns.
“Because indoor sports have to follow the CDPH’S Institution of Higher Education Guidance, and one part in there says that ‘athletes are not required to waive their legal rights regarding COVID-19 as a condition of athletics participation,’ I think this could be a big hurdle for some districts,” he said in an email. “Student-athletes and parents are usually made to sign an assumption of risks to participate in athletics. This helps to protect districts in case of injury. The collegiate guidance doesn’t allow this for COVID-19. I think that’s going to be a problem in some districts/schools.”
Stephen Grebing, one of the attorneys who negotiated
The Appeal reached out to local athletic departments regarding the latest guidance from the state on reopening of high school athletics.
Here’s what they had to say:
Neil Stinson
East Nicolaus Athletic Director
“We don’t have the money, resources, people to follow that guidance. (The) NCAA had quite a long time to figure this out. I am hoping they’re going to apply some clearer guidance that is more applicable to a high school.”
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Joel Seaman
Yuba City Athletic Director
“Our district is still working diligently on the ‘testing athletes’ aspect of this, and that is no easy feat to do the entire football program in a safe and timely manner. And now possibly they want us to test multiple sports, all at the same time? We are not the University of Alabama, how anyone expects local high school districts to be able to do all this baffles me. How do you take 10 months of sports and cram it into three months? And then add the ‘testing’ aspect?”
the settlement, said the guidelines released are in line with what was discussed as part of the settlement. He said he is not aware of any state