Governor Mike DeWine announced all sports will be allowed this fall, as long as teams meet guidelines laid out by Ohio High School Athletic Association and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH).
The governor said in a press conference Tuesday that his office would release the specific health guidelines soon. Guidelines will include social distancing restrictions, limiting the number of spectators allowed in stadiums, and having health inspectors enforce the rules.
As grounds for the decision, the governor cited mental health concerns, the importance of sports in students’ lives, and the hope that the decision would motivate students to be even more vigilant in preventing the spread.
DeWine stated that “one hope is that the desire to have a season… will inspire our young people, our athletes… 24/7 to be as careful as they can.”
Later in the conference Lt. Governor Jon Husted echoed the sentiment saying a positive of the decision is athletes, coaches, and teams “have that extra incentive to do the right things, like stay socially distanced and wear their masks.”
The decision of whether to reopen for the fall sports season will be left to the school districts, with DeWine stating “what we’re doing today is empowering the schools, the students and parents to make the best call for their students.”
The decision comes after months of protests by students, coaches, and parents.
In June, parents in Worthington protested the ban on fall sports, according to ABC. Also, Cleveland.com said protests took place in several Northeast Ohio school districts.
Earlier this month, a judge blocked an order from the ODH that would have made contact sports difficult to move forward with. Judge Timothy N. Tepe said in his decision that the order was unconstitutional as it violated the equal protection clause of the constitution and the separation of powers.
DeWine’s decision is effective immediately. The governor called on school officials to have a plan and closed his remarks by saying “sports is about a lot of things, one of the things it’s about is hope, it doesn’t matter what sport it is,” but noting that “hope itself is not a plan.”
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Ben Kolodny is a reporter at The Ohio Star and the Star News Network. You can follow Ben on Twitter. Tips can be sent to [email protected].
