LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Gov. Andy Beshear said the state of Kentucky will not overrule the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s decision to move forward with the start of high school fall sports.
However, the governor and the state’s top health officials said they have serious concerns about the KHSAA decision and said they worried about more COVID-19 infections and seasons being interrupted.
“I have concerns … that by starting with some of the most high contact sports that we risk a shortened season, that we risk what I think can be successful plans to get our kids back in school, that we risk every other sport that’s going to … follow,” Beshear said. “But we can’t be making every decision for what’s best for folks out of the governor’s office.”
The KHSAA board voted 16-2 Thursday to move forward with the start of high school sports in the state, against the request of urban district representatives to delay the start as a COVID-19 precaution. The nine-week regular season is set to begin Sept. 11. Football playoffs would begin on Nov. 13, and the state football finals would be Dec. 11-12 at Kroger Field on the University of Kentucky’s campus in Lexington.
Dr. Steven Stack.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said the “outlook is not good” that Kentucky would fare better than other states that have started sports as the infection rate remains high.
When the Southeastern Conference moved ahead with sports, Vanderbilt University almost immediately recorded cases, Stack said, prompting the SEC to increase testing requirements.
Stack also said that he is concerned about new reports that indicate a high share of people who test positive may have heart problems that put them at greater risk for heart attacks.
“There’s a lot we don’t know about this disease,” he said.
An Ohio State University researcher said he expects up to 13% of people who test positive will develop heart muscle inflammation that for months can cause symptoms including fatigue and swelling in the legs, or, in the worst case, succeed cardiac death, Stack said. And a study in Germany indicated that 80% of people in their 40s who are infected had “abnormal cardiac MRI studies” and 60% had signs of heart muscle inflammation.
Stack urged everybody to follow the rules, including keeping their distance, wearing masks, washing their hands. And he urged people to stay away from people who are flouting the rules.
“If we don’t,” he said, “... football is going to start, kids are going to start getting infected, people are going to get concerned and scared, things are going to get shut down, and the rest of the sporting teams lose their season, too.”
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