Two high school athletes file lawsuit against Gov. Newsom seeking return to competition – Orange County Register

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Two San Diego high school football players and their guardians filed a lawsuit against Governor Gavin Newsom, the state health department and San Diego County on Thursday, January 28, seeking a temporary restraining order to allow high school competition. The pandemic, the Southern California News Group learned.

Since mid-March, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) guidelines have banned most young athletes in California from participating in high school competitions. The guidelines were updated last month to allow cross-country and other low-contact sports from the week of January. At the beginning. 25 years old

San said that in the lawsuit filed by the San Diego Superior Court, under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, high school students were not treated fairly because the state’s colleges and professional athletes were allowed to compete in the same period. Stephen Grebing, a lawyer from San Diego.

Grabin said: "This shocked us because high school athletes were denied opportunities. Many of them were senior citizens. They participated in their last year of competition, had the opportunity to be seen by scouts, and participated in the competition. Experience," Grebin said.

“What makes us strange is that (San Diego) counties and states allow professional athletes with strict COVID-19 agreements to participate in the competition, and universities with strict COVID-19 agreements to participate in the competition, without giving high schools the same opportunity to compete. Agreement. We don’t require participation without an agreement. What we mean is, if we agree to use the same agreement, why not let us play?"

Newsom's press office has not yet commented on the lawsuit, which also appointed San Diego Public Health Officer Wilma Wooten as the defendant. CDPH said it has not received a lawsuit and generally does not comment on pending lawsuits.

Dr. Mark Ghaly, director of the California Department of Health and Human Services, including CDPH, recently stated that the state hopes that the youth movement will come back, but it must “do it safely.

CDPH’s guidelines for high school and youth sports incorporate various activities into the state’s colored hierarchical system for virus surveillance, using exposure levels and indoor or outdoor environments as driving forces to ensure student safety. There are several types of fall sports, such as football, boys and girls water polo, and girls volleyball-all of which have been postponed-are placed in the orange level (medium virus risk), and since most counties in the state are in a state of uncertainty, So face an uncertain future in the purple layer (extensive risk).

In March, Sacramento’s Boys and Girls State Basketball Championships were cancelled due to the pandemic, and the spring sports seasons of baseball, softball, track and field, swimming, boys’ volleyball, boys’ tennis, boys’ golf and boys’ and girls’ lacrosse also got canceled.

Unlike the state's guidelines on college sports, the high school guidelines do not have an agreement for COVID-19 testing, but require masks and social distancing adjustments in most sports. CDPH's university guidelines require COVID-19 testing and results within 48 hours before a high-risk sports (such as football) game.

Testing is also common in professional sports.

The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to allow high school games to begin under the same or similar security agreements as college and professional sports. Grabin said that he hopes to be able to hear the court in "about a week."

High school sports officials have said that in states with 800,000 student-athletes, the cost of COVID-19 testing is too high, but Ken Elliott, a spokesperson for the parent and student-athlete group Let Them Play CA, said this obstacle can be overcome.

He said: "If they tell us what they need from a testing perspective to get back to the site, we believe that we have the support and resources to complete this work very quickly and very cheaply."

"We are very happy to see that the parents and children there will continue to fight as hard as they can to return to the fields, courts and swimming pools as soon as possible."

Let Them Play CA, which has 51,000 Facebook members, plans to hold a series of rallies across the state on Friday, January 29. Grassroots organizations held their first rally on January 15.

The lawsuit was brought by outstanding senior football players Nicholas Gardinera of Scripps Ranch High and Cameron Woolsey of Mission Hills.

The complaint came when the coaches expressed concerns about the mental health of young athletes. The high school and youth sports landscape also includes club teams traveling outside of the state or participating in state games, both of which violate state guidelines.

"There are many adverse effects on the mental health and economic impact of these students (for low-income children)," said Grebin, the parents of two student athletes at Mission Bay High School.

"A lot of families go to Arizona and Nevada to play on weekends and then come back here. That might be the worst thing. Arizona is a hotbed of COVID."

California State Assembly Member Laurie Davis (R-73) is one of the members supporting a new resolution aimed at resuming youth sports activities. She recently sent a letter signed by several of her colleagues to Newsom, expressing her concern for young athletes.

Davies wrote in a letter dated January 25: "For many children around our state, youth sports is an opportunity to escape poverty and have the opportunity to obtain higher education through scholarships. There is no ability to scout Demonstrate and demonstrate their skills with scouts. In school, many students report their desire to give up high school altogether, or even not even consider going to college at all. We must act quickly before losing an entire generation of students."

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