(670 The Score) Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday reiterated his stance and mandate that high school and youth sports shouldn't be played in the state at this time.
Though each of the bordering states around Illinois is playing high school football, Pritzker has overridden the IHSA governing body and made the determination that contact sports shouldn't play this fall. They're currently set to be held in the spring.
Some parents disagree with Pritzker's stance, including Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald, who "absolutely" believes that Illinois high school football and sports should be playing now. A father of three boys -- including a high school sophomore set to play football at Loyola Academy -- Fitzgerald said he trusts the plans to proceed with sports during the pandemic.
"As a parent, I'd like to be able to have that choice," Fitzgerald said on the Danny Parkins Show on Wednesday afternoon. "Yeah, I firmly believe our high school student-athletes, the young men and young women, should have the opportunity to play if we can execute it in a healthy and safe manner.
"I'm fully on board with that if we can do it in a healthy and safe manner. I really hope they do, especially for the seniors. There's a lot of opportunities for collegiate experience on the line. As long as we can do it in a health and safety standpoint, I'm all for it."
On Wednesday, the Big Ten conference by virtue of a unanimous vote reversed its August decision to cancel the fall football season, setting course to begin a truncated season on the Oct. 23-24 weekend. Meanwhile, Illinois high school football players remain on the sidelines as college compete as well as their peers in other states.
"As I look at where we're at right now, I feel like the medicine is starting to catch up," Fitzgerald said. "It's not there yet; we all know that. But we're getting more and more answers every day and we're learning more every day. I put my trust -- at least my family's trust, my personal trust -- in that."