Prep basketball: California return-to-play advocates deliver data to Gov. Newsom

Advocates pushing for the return of indoor youth sports across California delivered data Wednesday to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office in the latest effort to persuade state leaders to give student-athletes in those sports a chance to play.

Basketball, volleyball and wrestling are the primary indoor high school sports that have not received a clear pathway to return to competition before the academic year ends.

Advocacy leaders are aiming for the same outcome that football coaches achieved in a relentless campaign in January and February to get their student-athletes back on the field.

Football and other outdoor contact sports returned in many parts of the state last week.

In a letter delivered Wednesday to Newsom’s office and Dr. Mark Ghaly of the California Department of Public Health, Let Them Play CA Basketball leaders stated, “Now is the time. Covid-19 cases are drastically falling across the state. Vaccinations are nearing 10 million. People are dining indoors. Kids are going back to the classroom. Now is the time.

“Our youth mental health crisis continues and the longer our children are not allowed to live the life they once knew and allowed to return to how they identify themselves as athletes, we will continue to have youth suicides, suicide attempts, and hospitalizations for mental health reasons.”

The data included in the packet noted that 480 coaches from 42 of the 43 states that have allowed high school basketball were surveyed between Feb. 19 and Feb. 24. They responded to questions about their experiences from the 2020-21 season.

There were 720 coronavirus cases among 9,480 athletes, data provided by Let Them Play CA Basketball showed, but only 28 of the 720 cases were attributed to practices and 20 of the 720 were attributed to games.

“Basketball is being played in 43 other states,” the advocacy leaders stated. “A lot of basketball. Over 215,000 high school games have been played this season. Our data supports what others have found: Covid-19 is spreading outside of practices and outside of games. Only .3% of the athletes in our sample contracted Covid-19 during a practice and only .2% during a game.”

The letter to Newsom’s office added that research shows that many young athletes are playing basketball within the state’s borders every weekend, at least 600 teams and 1,000 games, Let Them Play CA Basketball leaders say.

“The state of California is denying all of our youth the opportunity to play their sport by disallowing school-based athletics,” the advocacy leaders’ letter stated. “Looking forward, leagues are already formed and ready for families to spend money to duplicate what would have been their high school basketball season. But, again, only a small group of athletes will be able to afford this.

“We are at a critical juncture. The time is now. The research, science and data are consistently in strong support of the return of indoor basketball. In fact, there is no data contrary. We implore you to take immediate action and allow basketball to be played, indoors, regardless of county tier.”

This latest push follows comments Monday by San Diego-based attorney Stephen C. Grebing that indoor sports could return in California under a settlement with the state.

In a Zoom call with the Bay Area Basketball Coaches Alliance, Grebing said he received a settlement offer from state officials that could open the door for all sports to return across the state.