Basketball, winter sports put on pause ...again

Metaphorically speaking, one term used to describe the current state of Illinois high school athletics has been "moving the goal posts" - meaning to change the (goal) of a process or competition while it is still in progress, in such a way that the new goal offers one side an advantage or disadvantage.

In Illinois, not only have the goalposts been moved - they've been taken down, unassembled and lit on fire, while constantly pouring gasoline on it.

Once again, the tug-of-war that has been going on between Governor J.B. Prtizker, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois High School Association has put the current basketball season on hold after Pritzker has announced the entire state will enter Tier 3 mitigations at 12:01 (Friday) morning. Among the new guidlelines to go into place is a shut down of all indoor sporting and recreational activities, including youth and adult recreational sports.

Monday was the official first day of basketball practice in the state. Locally, Harrisburg and Pinckneyville boys, along with Marion girls, held open gyms.

The announcement by the Governor also includes sports deemed low-risk that were previously allowed to compete, such as bowling and cheerleading.

Rewind to late July when the IHSA pushed football (high-risk) to Spring 2021 and kept basketball (medium-risk) with a start date of November 30th.

In late October, Prtizker and the IDPH released new guidelines for youth sports, moving basketball into the high-risk category, which meant games were not allowed and practices were to be non-contact (i.e., open gyms).

The following day, the IHSA said it was moving forward with basketball, but also left the decision up to individual schools.

Then with a meeting scheduled for Thursday (yesterday), the IHSA released a statement on Tuesday evening from IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson, adding:

"The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) recognizes that today's announcement by Governor Pritzker will temporarily pause the IHSA's winter sports season. We remain optimistic that these new mitigations, coupled with the emergence of a vaccine, will aid in creating participation opportunities in the New Year for IHSA student-athletes in winter, spring, and summer sports.

"The IHSA Board of Directors will meet as scheduled on (Thursday), to continue plotting out potential paths for IHSA sport and activity participation through the remainder of the school year. Although representatives from the Governor's office and the Illinois Department of Public Health will be unable to attend the meeting, today's updated guidance from Governor Pritzker will aid the Board's decision-making. We have asked Deputy Governor Ruiz and Dr. Ezike to engage with us in the near future, so that we can collaborate on developing a plan to safely conduct IHSA sports and activities as soon as possible. IHSA schools have been exemplary in adhering to state regulations throughout this pandemic and we hope that non-school programs will hold themselves to the same standard as we all put the long-term health and safety of our fellow citizens ahead of short-term athletic competition."

Spyder Dann covers prep and college sports for the Southern Illinois LOCAL Media News Group. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.