Wolf: School sports should be put on hold
Gov. Tom Wolf dropped a bombshell on Pennsylvania high school sports Thursday morning when he recommended school sports in the state be postponed until Jan. 1 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Wolf made his initial comment in the final minute of a newss conference updating residents on the COVID-19 pandemic, his response coming after a reporter asked about the guidance for spectators in high school sports this fall.
“The guidance is we ought to avoid any congregate settings,” Mr. Wolf said Thursday morning. “That means anything that brings people together is going to help that virus get us. We ought to do everything we can to defeat that virus. Anytime we get together for any reason, that’s a problem, because it makes it easier for that virus to spread.
“So the guidance from us, the recommendation, is that we don’t do any sports until Jan. 1.”
Later in the day, the Pennsylvania departments of health and education further explained Mr. Wolf’s comment and issued an official recommendation. Ultimately, the departments want the decision of school sports to rest on the shoulders of individual school districts.
“The administration is providing this strong recommendation and not an order or mandate,” the departments’ statement said. “As with deciding whether students should return to in-person classes, remote learning or a blend of the two this fall, school administrators and locally elected school boards should make decisions on sports.”
Mr. Wolf’s news conference ended immediately, and his statement brought about many questions. Does the PIAA, WPIAL or any school have to follow the recommendation? Was Mr. Wolf talking about all sports or just school sports? What will
the PIAA and WPIAL do next? What about youth sports and college and pro sports?
Non-school sports — including AAU basketball, youth baseball and softball — have been playing games around the state since June with fans in attendance. But the departments’ guidelines recommend that “school and non-school recreational youth sports” should not be played until Jan. 1, and that includes “competitions, intramural play and scrimmages.” Kids, however, can “continue conditioning, drills and other training activities on an individual basis.”
The new guidelines do not apply to college and pro sports. They also say gathering limits remain unchanged, with no more than 25 people indoors and 250 outdoors.
After Mr. Wolf’s comments Thursday morning, the PIAA was left scrambling, along with school administrators, athletes and coaches around Pennsylvania. The PIAA board of directors held an emergency meeting Thursday afternoon, meeting in executive session via Zoom.
No votes were taken on what the PIAA will do in response to the new recommendations. But the board will meet again Friday afternoon and will vote on what actions to take. The PIAA issued a statement Thursday afternoon that said the organization was “tremendously disappointed” with the governor’s decision.
“Our member schools have worked diligently to develop health and safety plans to allow students the safe return to interscholastic athletics,” the statement said.
As of Thursday morning, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi and his staff had no idea what recommendations were coming from the governor or state agencies. Garry Cathell, director of the Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Association, said the organization will now prepare a model for spring football that will be presented to the PIAA.
Mr. Lombardi has said numerous times in the past that the PIAA is against moving fall sports to the spring. But after Thursday’s developments, that idea might have more traction.
North Allegheny athletic director Bob Bozzuto is the president-elect of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Directors Association and also the president of the Big 56, an association representing all Class 5A and 6A schools in the WPIAL. Big 56 athletic directors met Thursday via Zoom after Mr. Wolf’s comments.
“We just kind of let everybody talk about their thoughts and what type of game plan or strategy we can use,” Mr. Bozzuto said. “The way it was done by the governor put us at a disadvantage because we didn’t expect it. The way it was stated by the governor to the most important group of people — the kids — just wasn’t right.
“On the other hand, let’s be positive. I know the PIAA and athletic directors across the state are focused on still having three seasons of sports. They may not be the traditional seasons that we’re used to, and may not be at the times we’re used to, but we’re still focused on having three.”
The PIAA board of directors decided last week to go ahead with the start of fall sports as scheduled, but it was up to schools and the 12 PIAA districts around the state to delay the start of sports if they wanted. The WPIAL, one of the 12 districts, decided last Friday to delay the start of fall sports, including football.
Pittsburgh Public Schools on Thursday night echoed Mr. Wolf’s recommendation to postpone. A release said the school board plans to vote on the recommendation at its Aug. 26 legislative meeting.
Under the WPIAL’s new schedule, the first day WPIAL football teams can play a game is Sept. 10. Heat acclimatization practices for all Pennsylvania football teams can begin Monday. The start of official practice is Aug. 17.
WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman acknowledged that the decision of whether to have fall sports could ultimately come down to individual schools. But she cautioned that it’s premature for the WPIAL to make any judgments or plans before the PIAA meeting Friday.
“It’s very disheartening news,” Ms. Scheuneman said of Mr. Wolf’s comments and the new recommendations. “We’ve worked hard to alter our schedule, to allow competitions to occur safely. To have that pulled out from underneath us and the student athletes is not what we want to see happen.
“We have to see what the PIAA says before we make any decisions on our end. If they say we’re allowed to have sports, then we have to act. If they say we’re not allowed, then we can’t change that.”