Georgia High School Association executive director Robin Hines made no immediate decisions on fall sports Wednesday after his weekly meeting with the GHSA’s sports-medicine advisory committee.
The meeting had drawn heightened attention because of statements made Friday by Dr. Kathleen Toomey, the Georgia Department of Health commissioner. Toomey expressed concern about the health risks of close-contact high school activities such as football, competition cheerleading, chorus and band.
‘‘It was a productive meeting on many topics dealing with fall sports, but no decision came out of that,’' Hines said Wednesday afternoon. “It’s an advisory council. I won’t have more to say until I communicate with the board of trustees. ... I remain cautiously optimistic about our fall seasons.‘'
The GHSA’s board of trustees last met July 20 to announce that the football schedule was being delayed two weeks to the week of Sept. 4.
Wednesday’s meeting also came as more schools and states are suspending or postponing football practices over COVID-19 concerns.
Lee County, a Class 6A power in southwest Georgia, became the latest to shut down football and other fall sports Wednesday, principal Greg Batten’s office confirmed Wednesday to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Lee County football coach Dean Fabrizio later acknowledged that two of his players had tested positive for COVID-19. Classes are set to begin Aug. 14.
Decatur High this week canceled all in-person sports activities through Sept. 25, including the first three football games, over COVID-19 concerns. Liberty County announced last week that it had suspended workouts indefinitely.
More than a dozen other schools, including Newton, Tucker, Lakeside and North Paulding in metro Atlanta, have shut down practices since mandatory workouts were allowed July 27.
Southwest-Macon football coach Joe Dupree, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 in the spring, said this week that the season should be postponed further than the two-week delay the GHSA announced last month.
The South Carolina High School League on Wednesday delayed the start of football a second time. Practices won’t begin until Sept. 8, with first games the week of Sept. 25. Minnesota, Maryland and Colorado this week moved their football seasons to winter or spring. Nine states now have done that.
In Georgia, the first football games are scheduled the week of Sept. 4, two weeks past the original Aug. 21 start. Other fall sports may begin sooner. The first softball game was played Tuesday.
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