CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- More than half of the high schools responding to an IHSA survey do not plan to allow students to play basketball this winter.
Illinois High School Association Executive Director Craig Anderson said only about 10 percent of the 546 schools that responded to a survey indicated they plan to start basketball practice next week and start their seasons Nov. 30. There are 813 member schools in the IHSA.
Of the other schools that responded, nearly 300 of them were not planning a season while more than 200 schools didn’t know if they would be having one. Anderson said the big reason is insurance liability issues.
Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health believe it would be safer from a COVID standpoint if basketball were played in the spring. The IHSA went against that recommendation and approved a season in the winter.
"That’s what our schools heard is the fact that they were going against the guidance of the governor’s office and IDPH by playing basketball on the timeline we created. That was what created the liability," Anderson said.
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The IHSA has invited representatives of the governor’s office and public health department to its board meeting next week to see if something can be worked out.
"We believe there’s a way that our students can participate and do it safely. It’s simply for the opportunity for our students to get the benefits of high school participation in whatever sport they choose, but particular now, we’re dealing with basketball," Anderson said.
He said basketball will be played in nearly every state surrounding Illinois and they will not be playing with face masks. The IHSA plan would require players to wear masks when they're playing. Anderson said the other states are finding COVID spikes of the type they saw when fall sports were being played.