Illinois football is ruled a high-risk sport.
Illinois football is ruled a high-risk sport.
A Joe Davies County political activist says Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s rules on high school sports are extreme.
Pritzker announced statewide COVID-19 restrictions on high school, youth and adult recreational sports last week just as the Illinois High School Association board of directors was preparing to issue a student athletics schedule, according to a July 29, Chicago Sun-Times story.
“It's a bit of an overreaction,” Micah Ransom said. “Also, he’s not basing all of his decisions on science. Instead, a lot is based on politics and the fact that it's an election year and it's going to hurt Donald Trump.”
Football, boxing, wrestling, competitive cheerleading and dance are limited to no-contact practice and training, according to state COVID-19 guidelines.
Activities are classified into either higher risk, medium risk or lower risk and Levels 1, 2, 3 or 4. For example, high-risk sports can play at Level 1 while medium-risk sports can play at Level 1 and 2. Medium-risk sports include basketball, soccer, water polo, flag football, wheelchair basketball and volleyball.
Rather than blanketing high school sports with the same restrictions statewide, Ransom said he would rather see Pritzker deal with areas individually.
“The way he is reopening the economy in regions is the way he could handle high school sports, rather than applying restrictions based on what’s happening in Chicago to everyone,” Ransom told the NW Illinois News.
Ransom added that he does not foresee restrictions on sports helping students.
“For a lot of kids, it's their senior year and they are never going to pass this way again,” he said. “They're never going to be able to play this year again, and the science shows that COVID doesn't affect young people the way it does adults. I think Gov. Pritzker could safely allow sports like Iowa is.”
In Iowa individual school districts are left to decide whether to allow a sport. Students who live in a school district that does not allow a sport can transfer, according to state guidance posted online.
As of Aug. 6, Illinois has reported 186,471 COVID-19 cases and 7,573 fatalities, according to the Illinois Department of Health.
In Iowa the numbers are 47,360 coronavirus cases and 911 deaths, according to Iowa’s dashboard.
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