All Fall Sports Go Except Football – Lower Merion And Harriton Players Protest
Correction: In addition to football, neither Harriton nor Lower Merion will be playing waterpolo this fall.
Football rivals, Harriton and Lower Merion, came together this afternoon to stage a rally protesting Lower Merion School District’s decision to resume all Fall Sports – with exception of football.
Several players from both schools made their cases as to why their sport should not have been singled out to be sidelined.
While not being able to hide their frustration and disappointment with the adminstration’s decision, every single one of the boys who spoke was respectful. And remarkably, considering the circumstances, none of them expressed any anger or resentment.
Athletic directors from Harriton and Lower Merion High Schools released this statement today.
Update on Harriton and Lower Merion Football
Sept. 24, 2020
The Athletic and Activities Directors of Harriton and Lower Merion high schools wanted to take this opportunity to reply to recent concerns and offer some clarifications regarding the 2020 football season.
On Monday night, Sept. 21, 2020, the Lower Merion Board of School Directors approved an updated Health and Safety Plan for the participation of District teams in PIAA AthleticsPDF download. This plan was developed in alignment with guidelines for athletic participation from both the Montgomery County Office of Public Health and the PolicyLab of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Under these guidelines, team sports that are deemed to pose just a moderate risk of COVID-19 transmission – such as tennis, soccer, field hockey – can be played, as long as the Health and Safety Plan precautions are followed, with the current positivity and incidence rates for our community. However, the guidelines say that sports that are considered high risk – including football, water polo, wrestling and basketball – should not be played at this time. If the metrics change, these sports can be played, but right now, our community is not at an incidence level safe enough to proceed with high contact sports.
We realize that this is extremely disappointing news for our football players and coaches [emphasis added], who have been practicing throughout the summer and taking all of the precautions required by the Health and Safety Plan. We are proud of how they have taken responsibility for the health of their teammates and we share their disappointment, along with many parents, guardians and community members who have long supported these teams. Lower Merion and Harriton are not the only schools having to make difficult decisions regarding their football seasons. The School Boards in Ridley, Radnor, Conestoga and Penncrest have not yet decided whether their teams will play.
In an effort to provide ongoing participation opportunities for our football players, we have requested that the Central Athletic League include Lower Merion and Harriton in the 2020 game schedule, so that if the metrics are met, the teams will have opponents to play. In addition, we are seeking guidance on how we might enable our two District teams to safely play against each other. And we anticipate reaching out to our neighbors in Radnor to discuss how we can safely and creatively preserve the historic LM/Radnor rivalry series.
We will keep our coaches, players and their parents/guardians updated on these efforts.