Rallies planned for Friday to protest prep sports shutdown

Frustrated in an effort to make contact with decision-makers and leaders who have put high school sports on hold in California, two statewide groups are hoping rallies Friday will get the attention of Gov. Gavin Newsom and other leaders.

Multiple locations will host rallies at 4 p.m., but the largest gathering in San Diego County appears to be scheduled for 9:30 a.m. outside the main entrance of Torrey Pines High in Carmel Valley. County Supervisor Jim Desmond and several coaches are scheduled to attend, according to an announcement from Desmond’s office.

They plan to urge Newsom and others to look at data they say supports their position that high school football — and sports in general — can be played safely in this time of COVID-19.

In December, the California Department of Public Health said there would be no decision on playing high school sports before Jan. 25. But many coaches and others involved believe there may be an announcement on the future of sports this school year as early as Tuesday.

So the Golden State High School Football Coaches Association and Let Them Play CA — a parental group — are hoping the rallies will get the attention of California’s leaders.

“These are separate organizations that are working together,” said Torrey Pines football coach Ron Gladnick, who is working in conjunction of Patrick Walsh, the football coach at San Mateo Serra.

Parents and students have been encouraged to be at the socially distanced rallies.

“All we want is to get our voices heard,” said Luke Pizzo, a basketball/baseball player at Clairemont High. “For a lot of seniors, this is our last year to play organized sports. And unfortunately, we may not have the opportunity.”

Across the country, 31 states completed a football season with 30 of those now playing basketball.

Texas and Michigan will finish football this weekend.

In California’s four-tier system — where purple is the most restrictive, followed by red, orange and yellow — football can only be played in counties in the orange tier, along with gymnastics, boys lacrosse, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls volleyball and water polo. As of now, rural Sierra County is the only orange-tier county.

Backers would like to see those sports allowed in red-tier counties, of which there are currently three, all in rural areas. Baseball, softball, field hockey and girls lacrosse are permitted in those areas.

Chris Daubet, whose son Zach is a senior baseball player at Clairemont and considered a college prospect, is among those hoping the Let Them Play movement can make a difference.

“This has given the parents a glimmer of hope,” Chris Daubet said. “All we want is to show the powers that it can be done. I understand the virus is going crazy and we’re the most-shutdown state, but other states are doing in-class teaching, playing sports and there hasn’t been an uptick in COVID-19 cases.

“We’ve had to leave the state for our son to compete, and that’s insane. But there have been no positive cases.

“Decisions are being made based on adults, not on kids. As a parent, to have no say in the future of our children is unbearable.”

Gladnick argues data doesn’t support the theory football players are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19.

“Sports don’t spread COVID-19,” Gladnick said. “And we have real data to show our decision-makers.

“Just last weekend, we had thousands of athletes, parents and families crossing state lines, going to Arizona, Nevada, Utah, to play club sports. Those people then come home and bring COVID-19 back to California. How is this a good policy?

“And there have been bandit club-team competitions all over the state.”

Last Friday, Arizona — the top COVID hotspot in the country — shut down all prep sports for the winter season scheduled to begin next week. But on Tuesday, one of the nine board members changed his vote and boys and girls basketball, soccer and wrestling will be permitted as long as all participants wear masks.

Several months ago, Marlon Gardinera, football coach at Scripps Ranch High, started a “Let the Parents Decide” movement, hoping to take the decision to play out of lawmakers hands and into the parents.

Scripps Ranch will be a site of one of today’s parent-driven rallies.

“Mine was a little more grass roots than what Gladnick and Walsh are doing,” Gardinera said. “They’ve taken our movement, gone to another level, and we fully support it. This is a data-driven push.

“We can’t lock our kids up forever. Playing is safer than doing nothing.”

Gladnick said data shows more students have committed suicide than have died from COVID-19.

“The collateral damage from not playing games is huge,” Gladnick said. “What makes this so frustrating is that our elected officials are so arrogant, so self-absorbed that they forget they work for the people.

“Our kids are looking to adults to help them, but every administrative chain of command has failed them.

“All we ask is for Gov. Newsom and (Supervisor) Nathan Fletcher to listen, and understand that kids are important, too.

“They’re crushing the hopes and dreams of our youth.”

Among the schools that will be hosting rallies at 4 p.m. are Oceanside and El Camino (at the school district office), La Costa Canyon, Carlsbad, San Marcos/Mission Hills, Madison, Granite Hills (with at least four other East County schools), Mt. Carmel, Scripps Ranch, Bonita Vista and Imperial (at the county courthouse).