NJSIAA will make final determination this week
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association is expected to make its final determination on the fall high school sports season by the end of the week, but judging by the comments at Gov. Phil Murphy’s press conference Monday, Aug. 17, indications are that it’s going to go forward.
Murphy was joined by state Sen. Paul A. Sarlo, who is on the executive board of the NJSIAA, and Assemblyman Bengie Wimberly, a longtime high school baseball and football coach. All three extolled the importance of having a fall sports season because of the benefits to the student-athletes and their families, and as a way to discourage behavior that could spread COVID-19.
Murphy also noted during the press conference that student-athletes will be eligible to play for their high school teams whether or not they attend school in-person. He said students can play fall sports if they are in the classroom or learning at their kitchen tables.
“Some schools have given notice their teams won’t be taking the field, as is their right,” Murphy said. “We’re not going to overrule them. But for every school that does give their team the go-ahead, we don’t want any student-athlete to be shut out based on whether or not they are physically in their school.”
Whether they’re in the school or learning at their kitchen table does not matter, Murphy said. “If they’re a student at the school, they can play at that school.
He said the NJSIAA is going to decide how and whether the high school sports season will unfold, but he noted that almost all fall sports are played outdoors, which is a safer environment for the athletes and the fans.
Sarlo said the state isn’t out of the woods with the pandemic, but that compared to March when the pandemic was shutting schools, it is encouraging to be able to discuss the 95,000 student-athletes in New Jersey who participate in fall sports sanctioned by the NJSIAA.
Sarlo said students need sports for their social and mental well-being, that athletes and their parents have an insatiable desire to compete at the highest level. He noted some do sports for fun, but others for access to higher education opportunities.
“If we take fall sports away … I’m concerned they will fill the void with other activities not sanctioned by NJSIAA,” Sarlo said.
He said outdoor sports that limit travel to local regions and keep students in the state, and are organized and structured by the NJSIAA, create an environment that keeps students accountable to their team for actions on and off the field. And keeping them in that structure decreases the likelihood that students will engage in reckless behavior off the field that could cause the spread of COVID-19, Sarlo added, saying he was confident the NJSIAA would provide further clarification about fall sports in the coming days.
Wimberly, who is the head football coach at Hackensack High School and has coached varsity football and baseball at high schools for 30 years, said he couldn’t overestimate the important of fall sports.
He talked about the bond that is created in the locker room “that transcends all areas” and helps students come together.
With challenges of COVID-19, he said, “we need that lockerroom camaraderie.” Creating a safe environment will benefit the student athletes mentally and physically, he said.
“I’m hugely of the opinion we need (outdoor) sports,” Murphy said. He noted that if the sports are outdoors and conducted responsibly, there should not be flare-ups of COVID-19.