Student-athletes rally at Capitol, project message to 'Let us play'

More than 100 student-athletes, parents and supporters of high school sports gathered in front of the State Capitol building Sunday afternoon with a clear message to local government: "Let us play." At least a dozen high schools, including Gold Country-area campuses Rocklin, Del Oro, Granite Bay, Lincoln, Vista del Lago and Folsom – joined by farther-reaching schools like East Nicolaus, Winters and Argonaut – rallied to support the cause. Parents and student-athletes hoisted signs reading "Seniors deserve a season" and "No sports, no scholarships, no future," while others gave impassioned speeches with choice words for Gov. Gavin Newsom's handling of youth sports policies amid rising coronavirus cases across the state. Much of California has regressed to the most restrictive "purple tier" of the state's roadmap to reopening the economy. While there have been safety protocols issued for everything from restaurants, places of worship, gyms, movie theaters and museums, there has been little to no guidance from the state on how to safely conduct youth sports. The California Interscholastic Federation, the state's governing entity for high school sports, postponed in July the start of the 2020-21 athletic calendar until at least January. High school football practices were scheduled to start as early as Dec. 7, with other traditional fall sports beginning Dec. 14. But when Newsom and Dr. Mark Ghaly of the California Department of Public Health disclosed on Nov. 16 that the release of updated youth sports guidance would be postponed, anticipation for the scheduled January start quickly became more bleak. "It keeps getting pushed back, and there's no date that we know we're gonna play," said Richie Watts, a quarterback looking to have a senior season for Rocklin High School, which had the largest contingent of attendees at Sunday's rally. "We've seen other states execute sports safely. They've done a good job with the proper precautions. I think it's possible to be safe and prevent the spread and make sure we're able to play our sport." Fellow Rocklin senior Kendra Bellows, a volleyball player, echoed her peers' frustrations, with confusion stemming from restrictions over high school sports vs. club sports. "I can play club volleyball, but I can't play high school volleyball," Bellows said. "And I can travel with that team, but I can't practice where I go to school every day. It's hard to do one thing and not the other." Other attendees said decision makers should consider data that suggests student engagement is dropping while course failure and dropout rates rise, and that COVID-19 is far less severe to school-aged students. "It's affected so many people in different ways," said Lincoln senior Jack Nilsson. "It is a virus. It is affecting people, but kids tend to handle it better and tend to not die. It's just frustrating. We don't have prom, we don't have dances, we might not have a graduation, we might not have sports." Nilsson recently signed a national letter of intent to play baseball at the University of Oregon, a school he had been committed to since his junior year. But others who have not yet made college commitments were heavily relying on a season to try and earn a scholarship. "It's unfair," Nilsson said. "I have a ton of friends that are talented, and they're not getting anything because of (the lack of a season)." El Dorado senior Caelan Bonniksen, who hopes to quarterback the Cougars in his final year of high school, organized Sunday's rally by creating a "CIF_LetUsPlay" Instagram handle eight days prior. He hoped to gather enough steam to have the collective voice of CIF student-athletes heard by local government. "Athletes and students don't really have a voice at all with the decisions that are being made," Bonniksen said. "Decisions are being made based upon students and kids every day, but no one asks us. I feel like we need a seat at that table to get our opinions out there, to show that we want things to happen and that we care." Bonniksen suggested several solutions, including limited or no fan attendance at games, limited travel, regular COVID testing, review of other states' high school sports COVID data and a waiver, backed by the governor, that students and parents can sign protecting entities such as the CIF from potential lawsuits in case of a COVID outbreak during competition. "This needs to be a family decision, not a government decision," Bonniksen said. "If you're willing to let your student participate, then they should be allowed to participate. If it's not worth the risk to you, don't participate."