Despite potential health risks, State High athletes make their case to play this fall
Whether there will be a competitive fall sports season for State College Area High School teams is still up in the air as district leaders consider health and safety concerns. But senior athletes made their voices heard Monday night — they want to play.
“While we completely understand the concerns for our own personal safety, we want to emphasize that as student-athletes and leaders of our teams, we have a certain amount of autonomy and responsibility regarding our own health as well,” senior Carson Franks said. “We are also more than willing to be held accountable for our actions.”
The State College board of directors met virtually in a work session Monday to discuss the proposed interim fall athletics health and safety plan, which includes strict guidelines each sport must adhere to in order to play this season. While it’s still planning to hold fall athletics, the district is also considering making a switch to online, remote learning due to an increased number of COVID-19 cases in district ZIP codes. The athletics health and safety plan will be voted on Wednesday.
SCASD Athletic Director Chris Weakland said there are risks to both sides of the argument — to play or to cancel fall sports — but added he is confident in the proposed sports plan, which resembles what was used by the district over the course of the summer. No athlete has yet to test positive for the virus under this plan, he said.
But Penn State Director of Athletic Medicine Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli, reminded members that not every decision or plan is guaranteed to come without consequences.
“There’s really no way to make a decision that’s going to be universally accepted,” Sebastianelli said. “When it comes to athletics, we have to assume that anybody who is making physical contact on another person and is expressing force and breathing hard creates a different parameter of what is a high-risk contact.”
Robust testing puts athletes in a position to play safety, but Sebastianelli said testing doesn’t mean they are immune from catching the virus at practice, in games or outside of competition. And if they do contract the novel virus, experts aren’t sure what the long-term effects will be on their cardiac and respiratory systems.
Though not making an official recommendation, Sebastianelli said 30% of Big Ten athletes — symptomatic and asymptomatic — who tested positive for COVID-19 demonstrated an “alarming” level of inflammation in their cardiac muscle, adding that the virus can drop an “elite” level athlete to “average status.”
“Putting the risk and the mitigation together is really challenging for this,” he said. “It’s really something that we don’t have any experience with. This is brand new. This is a virus that acts very differently than influenza, and it is something that needs to be respected. I’m not saying you cancel sports.”
Sebastianelli estimates one infection could result in about six to eight additional players sitting out due to close contact.
“You may lose half of your starting offensive team or half of your starting defensive team,” he said.
Ten district athletes addressed the board on behalf of their respective teams, telling members that while they understand competition will look different, they want to play and will continue to abide by all health and safety guidelines this fall.
“We want to bring to your attention and reassure you that we have and will continue to follow the CDC and school-approved return-to-play guidelines,” senior athlete and student body president Bayla Furmanek said. “As female student-athletes, we would like to continue the process of creating female mentors, role models and leaders in our community through the sport of field hockey.”
Athletes Allison Clemson, Brady Bigger, Clarre Porter, Casie Eifrig, Dresyn Green, Ariana Angus and Sasha Mohoruk each emphasized a desire to play, highlighting the mental and social benefits that come with playing sports and engaging in physical activity. Though eager to return to tennis this year, senior athlete Catelyn Janac told board members that competition should not be the priority and encouraged them to focus on safety — suggesting internal matches as opposed to playing teams from other schools.
“Not having the season goes deeper than just not playing. It ultimately ruins the family-like brotherhood that State High football creates for us as athletes,” Green said. “Football unites us both as family and as friends.”
