Officials from the state government and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association established opposite positions late last week, extending the cloud of uncertainty that hangs over whether high school sports will be conducted in the state this fall.
After Gov. Tom Wolf recommended against any school and youth sports before Jan. 1, 2021. The PIAA met on consecutive days and, rather than call off fall sports, as the governor’s statement seemed to suggest, it chose just a one-week delay in the start of official fall practices while seeking to discuss the situation further with the governor or his staff.
Schools and leagues around the state, including here in Lackawanna County, were busy making decisions on a local level on whether to try to play this fall.
That process got more complicated Thursday when Wolf responded to a question about allowing spectators at fall high school events.
“The guidance is that we ought to avoid any congregate settings,” Wolf said. “ … Anything that brings people together is going to help that virus get us. We ought to do everything we can to defeat that virus. Any time 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 sports until January 1.”
Wolf took no further questions, but his office issued a statement later in the day. In it, Wolf, the Department of Health and the Department of Education jointly recommended that school and youth sports should be postponed until “at least January 1, 2021.”
The administration provided that interpretation Thursday as “strong recommendation and not an order or mandate.”
By then, the PIAA Board of Directors was already meeting in executive session to discuss Wolf’s statement. A formal board meeting, which also included more time in executive session, was also called together on an emergency basis, for Friday.
During the Friday meeting, all but two PIAA board members voted in a favor of: “A motion to defer the start of all fall sports for two weeks to August 24, during which staff is requested to continue to seek a dialogue with the administration, the legislature and all stakeholders to obtain clarification of the possibility of safely conducting athletic activity in conjunction with the start of the school year.”
PIAA executive director Robert Lombardi said that it will be OK for teams to continue voluntary offseason workouts, where allowed by their school districts.
In a little more than 24 hours after Wolf’s press conference statement, Lombardi said the PIAA received about 7,500 e-mails on the subject.
“I am hopeful in the next two weeks, we can have good dialogue with the administration and see if we can make a case for some of our activities to support our student-athletes,” Lombardi said.