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“Anatomy of a Murder” is one of my favorite films from the 1950s and is a harrowing look at some of the awful decisions human beings can possibly make. But this isn’t the “Classic Video Showplace” blog – we’re here to talk about sports.
So instead, I would like to begin the ugly post-mortem on what has been a five-month long journey by the elite decision-makers in charge of high school sports that has led us to the ambiguous state of affairs that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is in right now.
I may be wrong, but when I am entrusted with making a serious decision, my thought process involves the following prerequisites:
- Do your research
- Communicate with everyone involved
- Ask questions and interview knowledgeable people
- Critically review all the facts
- Make a clear and decisive ruling to EVERYONE while thoroughly explaining my position.
I know not everyone might agree with this set of procedures nor have the time or energy/resources to participate in all of these steps for every serious decision one makes in life.
But the decision on what to do with scholastic sports in Pennsylvania for this fall – something that has been looming since mid-March – has turned into a complete farce among some of our most trusted individuals among various aspects of the educational and political systems.
Let’s recap some of the ‘highlights”…
- A color-coded system was put in place to give guidance to citizens in Pennsylvania in regards to multiple ways of life for its citizens – including instructions on how and when to participate in youth sports.
- Once PA went “in the green,” local high school teams, along with youth organizations, some tournament coordinators and high school coaches – some acting independently from their local school districts – start playing games, conducting drills and practices while trying to follow CDC protocols.
- Then, an ambiguous statement was made by the governor’s office stating that additional guidance (and more colors) would be forthcoming to further help give guidance in the above areas (no such color “scheme” has been announced to date).
- In mid-July the PIAA announced that (unless the governor objects) high school sports would be going forward as scheduled, with the caveat that individual school boards and districts outline the correct procedures. This would be followed by local school administrators asking the PIAA and Pennsylvania Department of Education help to develop specific protocols to follow – a plea that, according to some local administrators, has gone unanswered.
- In early August, leagues around the state voted on how and when they’ll start their fall sports seasons–with different conferences all selecting different start times for their fall sports, leaving teams’ “Opening Day” ranging anywhere from August 24th to October 2nd.
- Next, individual school districts vote on whether they agree with what their league has approved and, in a few cases, schools vote to suspend their fall sports entirely.
- On August 4th, the governor’s office announces that they will be giving protocols for schools to use for fall sports later that day–according to several journalists on the scene in Harrisburg, those guidelines never materialized that day.
- On August 6th, when responding to a question on whether spectators will be allowed to attend scholastic sports in the fall, Dr. Rachel Levine defers the question to Governor Tom Wolf, who responds by saying he strongly recommends continuing a ban on all youth sports.
Wait, what???
On the one hand, there were some municipalities that have continued to restrict kids from playgrounds and removed hoops from basketball courts.
But many more organizations were stunned when hearing that a recommended “ban” on sports was in place, one that many schools and organizations have very publicly and seemingly were ignoring, has set off a firestorm of controversy over the state.
Within 24 hours officials in the city of Allentown frantically went around re-closing parks, forbidding use of athletic fields and announcing that all future permits are cancelled indefinitely. Reports of similar activity happening in SOME other regions around Pennsylvania ensued.
Clearly, youth sports have been going on for the last several months with various baseball and softball tournaments held across the Commonwealth and in neighboring states–a few finding negative publicity when pictures were posted with people not adhering to CDC protocols. Many little league programs started in late June and ran through a modified but completed schedule. If you drive by many high schools you can clearly see teams running drills on the school grounds. On our “RCN SportsTalk” show the last several weeks, local coaches have openly talked on-air about how they have been conducting practices. There was even a highly publicized AAU basketball tournament that was held in the western part of the state that we mentioned a few weeks ago here at “The SportsTalk Shop.”
All the while there apparently was a formal “ban” that was in place that many local directors say they weren’t aware of. (By the way, the Lehigh Valley High School Baseball Tournament that was playing last week, featuring 32 HS teams, continued without pause until its natural completion with its championship this past Monday.)
There was certainly a failure to communicate here somewhere.
(In defense of the governor’s office, his website indicates that this policy was issued on June 10th. The website also says policy was updated on August 6th – the same day as Wolf’s response to the question about fans – but does not specify what exactly was updated on 8/6/20).
Politically, Wolf made a brilliantly shrewd move by taking himself off the hook (at least officially) by quietly slipping in his “ban” in responding to another question.
When it looked like the PIAA was setting Wolf up to be the fall guy, their plan backfired on them as the final decision on when/if kids can play continues to get shuffled around between different administrators across Pennsylvania for a few more weeks.
Meanwhile, student-athletes that already began officially preparing for their fall season now have to wait to hear if their season was really supposed to start in the first place.
And while amateur sports are stopped, money-making organizations like the NFL, MLB and major college teams play on, despite continuing reports of positive Coronavirus test results for athletes, coaches and staff.
Let me be clear in my analysis of this catastrophe. I am not giving my opinion on whether I think fall sports should be played, cancelled or whether a staggered or delayed start to the fall season should occur. We are certainly in uncharted waters and there are serious ramifications in whatever is decided.
I’m not trying to target any one particular group, nor am I picking sides politically in this escalating, emotional battle that is taking place across Pennsylvania over the rights of kids’ ability to play sports. I’ve talked to several local athletic directors and assistant principals and they clearly are not the ones at fault here. Every single one that I have talked with has been working very hard trying for months trying to follow the rules they receive from above — although those instructions seem to shift radically on an almost weekly and sometimes daily basis.
What I AM singling out here is a clear lack of communication and the utter breakdown of this process to properly prepare student-athletes to be ready – one way or the other – on what to expect for their fall seasons.
The leaders of the major groups involved who are now posturing their stances in the media should have all set down long before we got ourselves to the first official day of fall practices – which has now since passed.
Instead, it’s become a grand political game of “pass the buck” while our young people suffer through an extremely emotional time period. And after an extremely tough spring and summer of indecision, one would think that some sort of plan would have been in place already by the fall that would have incorporated all the necessary people involved.
The result?
Reports are emerging of the anxiety kids are experiencing–not by whether they are going to play or not but by the indecision that is taking place.
In an August 7th article on Triblive.com, several parents expressed concern over the extreme stress and mental anguish their kids are going through while caught in limbo as to their immediate athletic futures.
The latest development which took place last Friday was the PIAA putting the fall sports schedule on hold for two MORE weeks while they get further direction from the governor’s office as they begin to work together for “clarity” on how everyone should proceed…something that probably could have taken place as much as three to four months ago. Once again, our young people suffer…due to politics.
Whatever the final decision will eventually be on when and if fall sports occur in 2020, we have enough evidence to close the book on the anatomy of their decision making process and can properly evaluate how the uppermost people in charge of our youth handled preparing for the fall season.
