Out of Their Hands
PJP out for fall season after Archdiocese cancels sports
Another Pioneer Athletic Conference school will not participate in athletics this fall.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Monday that it’s 17 high schools, which include the members of the Philadelphia Catholic League and District 1 teams Pope John Paul II and Bishop Shanahan, are opting out the fall 2020 season.
“Please know that we share your disappointment regarding the current status of fall sports programs,” a letter on the Archdiocese’s website stated. “It is our hope that your disappointment will be tempered by an understanding that we have an obligation to protect all those entrusted to our care. Athletics could not be treated separately and it fell to us to make this decision in a manner consistent with everything else done to this time. Given the nature of athletic competition and the manner in which COVID-19 is transmitted, there is currently no way for us to reasonably provide for the health and safety of student-athletes as well as those with whom they come into contact.”
The PIAA voted last Friday to permit fall sports to begin yesterday, based on local school decisions.
The Catholic League had previously delayed the start of its football season to Aug. 31 and other sports’ preseasons to Sept. 14. The PAC and Ches-Mont League, which Bishop Shanahan is a member of, delayed the start of their fall seasons two weeks, beginning preseason Sept. 7 and games Sept.
25, to allow schools more time to make decisions.
Pope John Paul is the fourth PAC member to have its fall athletic seasons cancelled thus far, joining Norristown and Pottstown, which cancelled all of their