ILLINOIS (WAND) - Leaders of the Illinois High School Association said the organization is seeking to get back control of decisions related to resuming sports seasons during the COVID-19 pandemic.
IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson confirmed in a statement he sent a letter to Gov. JB Pritzker and Deputy Governor Jesse Ruiz asking for this change. His statement, posted to social media Friday, said the following:
“With support from the IHSA Board of Directors, I issued a letter on Sept. 10 to Governor Pritzker and Deputy Governor Ruiz, that seeks permission for the IHSA and its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee to resume control over determining the resumption of IHSA sports and activities. However, the content of that letter has been greatly misconstrued on social media in a short amount of time. There have been no discussions, let alone proposed timelines, for resuming any sports at this time. Should our office receive a positive response from government officials, it could result in the IHSA reexamining its previously released season schedules, as well as postseason schedules, for the 2020-21 school year.
It is important to note that, under the leadership of Governor Pritzker, Illinois has attained one of the lowest COVID-19 infection rates in the country. Additionally, several surrounding states have successfully conducted sports categorized as medium and high risk here in Illinois, and we believe sports and activities are safest when conducted under the IHSA safety protocols by school personnel. Those combined factors led us to issue this letter, and we will respectfully await response to it.
The IHSA is not involved in any planned protests this weekend related to high school sports. If protests occur, we encourage all attendees to be safe, smart and respectful.”
