I’d like to ask Gov. J.B. Pritzker to take a step back and evaluate high school sports from a different perspective.
Get out from behind the podium and come visit a high school football practice. Speak to the kids whose lives are affected by your decision. Meet their parents.
Speak with the many caring adults who are waiting to go beyond their duties, providing youth guidance and leadership many kids do not find at home or online.
Visit with mental health professionals and discuss the major uptick in teenage depression, loneliness and anxiety, and the reasons behind it.
I have a sinking feeling here that politicians are putting their own career ambitions over the best interests of the people of Illinois. Eliminating an important part of essential adolescent formation will have long-term consequences for impacted families.
Pritzker canceled most fall sports in July and recently said he would not lift restrictions on high school football.
“I’m not willing to sacrifice people’s lives or their health, neither the children nor their parents who would be affected also. We are being careful about it, but I’m relying on doctors and researchers to give us the information. This isn’t a political decision. I know that there are people who would like me simply to make a political decision to allow people to endanger themselves,” he said.
But there is time to rectify this. Parents and coaches genuinely care about the health and safety of student-athletes and their families. As a parent, and as a coach, I have a deeply vested interest in not only a return to play, but a return to school for kids all over Illinois. Parents and students have been pressuring the governor through rallies to reopen schools. On Saturday, two “Let Us Play” rallies are planned in Chicago and Springfield. Join us.
The obvious benefits of in-person learning, sports, and all other extracurricular activities should be of such great importance, we find some way to mitigate the risk with our common sense protocols, and return to as normal life as possible.
Instead, we constantly hear about positivity rates — which seem to never have a floor too low — and hyped-up inaccurate stories meant to spin COVID-19 as a far greater threat to our youth than it is, often mischaracterizing outdoor sports as “super spreading” events.
The facts prove these loaded assertions simply are not true. It is even self-evident to our kids. They have common sense too. They aren’t fooled by political decisions disguised as “protective” measures. Beyond destroying their hopes and dreams, we also are losing their trust.
The experiences of other states playing sports without incident reinforces the fact that being outdoors, while following the standard protocols, is very safe. Tens of thousands of high school athletes are actively playing sports right now, without incident, in 32 states.
A democracy needs leaders who are brave and can stand tall in moments of uncertainty.
The time is now to reverse course and regain what our children have lost, in development and trust.
Athletic programs across the state are ready and willing to follow the most stringent of precautions and procedures to give kids the chance to play. Please give them a chance.
John Holecek is a graduate of Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, varsity football coach at Loyola Academy and a former NFL linebacker.
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