With too few vaccinated players, Crenshaw won’t participate in City Section playoffs
Crenshaw High’s football team, once one of the signature programs in the Los Angeles Unified School District, will not play its first round City Section Division 1 playoff opener Friday against South East because it does not have enough eligible players, according to the district.
South East advances to the quarterfinals.
Five-time City champion Crenshaw started the season with 14 players, built the roster up to 29 and played seven games, finishing 4-3. A new LAUSD mandate went into effect Sunday requiring students who want to play on sports teams to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Football teams are required to have a minimum of 18 players fully vaccinated.
As of last Friday, school officials said only 13 players were fully vaccinated. Crenshaw practiced Monday and Tuesday. Crenshaw coach Robert Garrett said he was informed Tuesday night that the Cougars didn’t have enough players to continue playing under the LAUSD mandate.
“They knew last week that I was not going to have 18 kids,” Garrett said. “I played 15 kids. The other kids are there so they won’t be on the street. They’re there for social and emotional development.”
Garrett, the head coach since 1988, has criticized the new City Section playoff format that placed his team in Division I via computer rankings despite having a school enrollment of less than 500.
“I don’t even have a JV team,” he said. “I don’t recruit and do not look for kids to come. This needs to stop. This is not the best system.”
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