By K.D. Norris
When it comes to COVID-19 related restrictions, or allowances, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer often says her and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ decisions are “guided by the data.”
So as high school athletic departments across the state, including those in the Kentwood and Wyoming area, await an expected modification by Gov. Whitmer and the MDHHS of the current “pause” in competition and most practices, WKTV asked about the data — the numbers.
The MDHHS and the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) both responded, with numbers which might be viewed as telling a somewhat different story.
“There have been 42 outbreaks associated with athletics (K-12 schools, professional, collegiate, and commercial venues) in August and September,” according to a MDHHS statement prior to the Nov. 15 pause in athletics, along with indoor restaurant service and other COVID-19 related restrictions.
And “we do continuously track data on outbreaks, including outbreaks associated with high school sports, and we know that there continued to be high school sports associated outbreaks in (October and November),” Bob Wheaton, spokesperson for the MDHHS, said to WKTV this week.
But those “outbreaks” did not prevent high school sports teams across the state from safely completing the vast majority of scheduled contests, according to MHSAA numbers given to WKTV. Even in a sport considered by the state to be “high risk” — football — with nearly 600 teams playing on any given week the percentage of games not played due to COVID-19 outbreaks was never more than 4.1 percent and was under 3 percent five out of nine weeks of competition.
“Our schools, with athletic directors monitoring activities and trained coaches teaching their athletes best practices and holding them to high standards, have for the large part been able to keep their teams competing and free of infection this fall,” MHSAA spokesperson Geoff Kimmerly said to WKTV this week. “We have maintained from the start of fall that schools are best equipped to provide athletics in the safest-possible environment, and we’re eager to restart our fall and winter seasons following the precautions that have been successful so far.”
(The complete data chart supplied my the MHSAA is at the end of this story.)
The MHSAA’s opinion on the effectiveness of high school sports programs’ COVID-19 safety efforts was echoed by David Kool, athletic director at South Christian High School, which had their football team’s so-far successful playoff drive halted in mid-November.
“Our staff and players have done a tremendous job navigating through this pandemic,” Kool said this week to WKTV. “The support and leadership from our coaches has been and will continue to be phenomenal. … We have followed the protocols and guidelines put on us to the best of our ability throughout the fall and now into the winter. We all realize that gives us the best chance for the student athletes to do what they love to do, which is to compete.”
MDHHS and athletics numbers
The MDHHS, in response to a questions about how much of a COVID-19 spreader problem high school sports has been this fall and early winter, referenced its late October update of its Interim Guidance for Contact Sports, which noted:
“There have been 42 outbreaks associated with athletics (K-12 schools, professional, collegiate, and commercial venues) in August and September of 2020. Outbreaks of this magnitude have the potential to affect more than just a sports team, but the community in which the players and coaches reside as well.”
The document also noted that contact sports are particularly concern, saying, “Given the available epidemiological data with concerning rising cases of COVID-19, contact sports such as football and wrestling pose a high risk of transmitting COVID-19 to athletes, coaches, and the general community, and should be avoided at this time.”
But under the mid-November order, while high school sports competitions and team practices were restricted, the MDHHS stated: “Gyms will remain open for individual exercise with strict safety measures in place. … (and) Professional and college sports meeting extraordinary standards for risk mitigation may continue without spectators, however all other organized sports must stop.”
And what’s next for high school athletics?
And what will drive Gov. Whitmer and the MDHHS’s decision to continue restrictions on, or allow resumption of, high school sports?
“As MDHHS’s order pausing gatherings for 3 weeks expires Dec. 8, we are reviewing the COVID-19 data and will make decisions on high school sports and other gatherings based on what that data shows us,” the MDHHS spokesperson said.
“We understand why the state health department paused activities for three weeks — we all have the same hopes for reducing COVID-19,” MHSAA’s Kimmerly said. “But we believe we have a good story to tell, and that we can continue to play a major role in keeping high school athletes safe while providing them a meaningful experience during this difficult time.”
And so local high school athletic departments, coaches and athletes await the decision and guidance from the Governor, MDHHS and the MHSAA.
“Each and every day we are trying to do everything we can to give our student athletes as many opportunities as we can,” South Christian’s Kool said. “We are hopeful that we will be given the green light to continue with athletics on Wednesday, December 9 and look forward to being back in action.”
