GHSA update foreshadows decision on suspensions

On Thursday, Georgia Governor, Brian Kemp, extended the mandatory closings of all schools to April 24 after just extending the mandate to April 6 on Tuesday.

The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) posted this statement on their website following this extension:

“I am sure most of you know by now that Governor Kemp, on Thursday, extended the mandatory closing of all schools through April 24. Obviously, the GHSA will follow this edict and we remind our member schools that all practices and contests remain suspended until at least April 24.

The governor’s office has indicated that he likely will make a decision on the remainder of the school year sometime prior to April 24. Therefore, at or before that time, the GHSA office will inform our member schools of a decision regarding resuming spring sports and activities.

These are, of course, unprecedented times that call for unprecedented actions, and our main concern remains the safety of all student-athletes, their families and fans.”

Now a deadline is set for a decision to be made whether spring sports will resume or cancel. But, the deadline sort of foreshadows the outcome.

Spring sports like tennis, soccer, and baseball usually end their regular season around April16-19. The rest of April is postseason play that ends around the middle of May.

School lets out on May 22 in Houston County, just a week after the final championship games are originally scheduled to wrap up.

With that said, the decision deadline is when playoffs are originally set to be underway. So, if they do, in fact, resume play, they’ll need to figure out when they start, what games need to be played, when playoffs will begin, and an array of other decisions need to be made. Continuing the season could potentially run into June, which probably isn’t a problem for players, but may be a problem for the GHSA.

In this situation, it’d be extraordinary if they resume this season. But, this latest update looks more like the GHSA is just prolonging the inevitable and heartbreaking decision that will cancel the rest of the season.

There’s little to no signs of the COVID-19 pandemic coming to a halt in the state of Georgia and the rest of the nation. Precautions continue to grow; even if this pandemic subsides, the logistics behind resuming the season doesn’t seem to be in favor of the athletes and coaches that want to play. The paranoia that’ll linger in some people is also another obstacle for the GHSA to combat if everything was to go back to normal by April 24.

What will happen a month from now is unpredictable, but as the pandemic continues to heighten and deadlines continue to extend, it’s more evident spring sports won’t be able to resume.

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