Gov. J.B. Pritzker | Facebook
Gov. J.B. Pritzker | Facebook
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is bucking the trend of Midwestern states allowing prep football season to continue in some form or fashion, but are some are questioning his use of a Covid outbreak at Frontier Community College as a device.
Pritzker came out against playing sports this fall in a press conference.
In his rationale for banning football, Pritzker sued Frontier Community College as an example of safety concerns. In that case over 50 percent of the Frontier CC baseball team tested positive. However, the players reportedly did not contract Covid while playing baseball and none suffered serious effects or hospitalization, leading some to question Pritzker's narrative.
An estimated 14 percent of the entire U.S. population is thought to have had Covid, the overwhelming majority with little to no effects.
Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin, all of which border Illinois, have allowed for prep football this season.
“We have the lowest positivity rate in the Midwest,” Pritzker said in a press conference. “Still too high. The states you are talking about all have very high positivity rates. Double-digit positivity rates in most. Those are states, fine, if they decided to endanger children and families in those states by allowing certain contact sports to take place that is their decision. It’s not something that is good for the families and the children of Illinois.”
Pritzker is still allowing cross country, golf, diving and women’s tennis and swimming to continue this fall.
Parents and athletes held rallies earlier this year begging Pritzker to re-open football season.
Absent a senior season some are now wondering where if they have a futures in athletics at all.
"This decision will determine if I get a scholarship or not," high school athlete Jaylen Brown told ABC 7 Chicago, WLS-TV.
The decision comes only days after the Illinois High School Association asked Pritzker in a letter last week to give them the authorization to allow sports to resume.
The Wayne County Health Department did not respond to a phone call by publication time regarding the Frontier Community College outbreak.
Alerts Sign-up