Despite efforts to put Lynn public school student-athletes back out on the courts and the ice this winter, it appears that for at least one more season, the city’s athletes will not get that opportunity.
News came down Saturday morning that the three Lynn public schools — Classical, English and Tech — will not be allowed to play winter sports this year due to concerns from the Lynn Board of Health about the spread of the COVID-19 virus. KIPP Academy Lynn Collegiate, a charter school that generally aligns itself with the decisions that affect the public schools, will also not play winter sports.
The decision does not affect St. Mary’s, which is a Catholic school and is not under the city’s jurisdiction.
Saturday’s news was handed down from Lynn Superintendent Patrick Tutwiler to the athletic directors of Classical, Tech and English. They, in turn, expressed their disappointment with the decision.
“It’s a tough thing to hear after all the work we’ve done to put together safety protocols in the hopes that we could put together some kind of season,” said English Athletic Director Dick Newton. “I feel that we had a lot of support in the community for our plans to safely play, but then to not be able to present our plans is hard to swallow.”
“We’ve offered to conduct all of our sports seasons in controlled environments with all of the proper protocols in place,” said Classical AD Bill Devin. “I took a poll of athletic directors at the last Northeastern Conference meeting, and almost all of them said they would play the Lynn schools if we played on the road during the winter season. It’s very disheartening to hear that we won’t even be able to attempt this.”
“It’s obviously very disappointing for the student-athletes and their families,” said Tech AD Adolph Graciale. “At the same time, I can understand where the Board of Health is coming from. We want everyone to be safe, and I think we need to get the kids back in school and try to keep pushing forward as best we can.”
“It’s a very tough decision to make because we all want to give our kids as many opportunities as we can to get out there and compete,” said KIPP AD Anthony Grimaldi. “We’re going to be aligned with the Lynn schools on this, so at this point our goal is to keep looking ahead and try to provide a safe environment where we can bring kids back to school and athletics.”
The news came just nine days before the official start date of the winter season, which is Dec. 14. As the city of Lynn deals with exploding COVID-19 case numbers — including record-setting figures for a single day in back-to-back days this week, the Department of Public Health has ruled that the risk is too great. Remote learning in the city has already been extended until at least February.
But on the athletics front, the rules have been changed a bit since the fall. Schools that were participating in fully remote learning were not allowed to play sports in the fall season, while schools with hybrid learning just needed the approval of their school committee. For winter sports, all schools — remote learning included — would be allowed to play sports with the approval of the school committee.
During last month’s Lynn School Committee athletic subcommittee meeting, members expressed support for athletic directors finding a way to safely play sports in the winter season.
For the athletic directors, the biggest blow at this point will be felt by their student-athletes.
“We’re talking about equity and fairness at this point,” said Newton. “I go out and see our kids working all over Lynn, at places like Walmart and Market Basket and others where they’re exposed to hundreds of people a day, and they’re asking how it’s fair that other communities get to play and they don’t. It’s hard to hear that.”
“The bottom line is that our kids aren’t getting the same opportunities as other kids in our city,” said Devin. “Our kids who play sports have nothing to look forward to, and I think it’s really having a profound effect on all of them.
“I look at our community as a whole,” Devin added. “Everyone goes to Market Basket, everyone goes to Eastern Bank. Why are sports any different, especially when done in the controlled environment we’re talking about?”
Said Jeff Newhall, St. Mary’s athletic director, “We are confident that following the same protocols that have allowed us to offer in-person learning for more than 100 days and participate in interscholastic athletics throughout the fall will allow our student-athletes to safely compete this winter,” AD Jeff Newhall wrote on Facebook Saturday. “We fielded 14 teams in seven sports this fall, with 290 students playing in 172 contests, including our league post-season tournaments. We understand that we have to be more vigilant than ever, and our students are committed to doing whatever it takes to stay in school and continue to compete in athletics.”
Last week, St. Mary’s marked the 100th straight day of in-person learning at the school.
Several hours after Saturday’s decision, word began to get around on social media that students, coaches and parents plan to protest at Lynn City Hall on Tuesday afternoon. Similar protests by other NEC schools prior to the fall season swayed opinions and got sports like boys and girls soccer, field hockey and cross country played.