Gov. Beshear: Fall sports depend on ability to get coronavirus 'back under control'

Jon Hale
Louisville Courier Journal

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Want college or high school football this fall? Wear a mask in public then.

"We have significantly lower cases than our neighbors, but they’re increasing," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday in an interview on Kentucky Sports Radio. "We cannot deny the fact that we are seeing an escalation of cases that ought to concern everybody. We’re seeing some of them break out in some of the conditioning, football or other high school sports teams.

"Our ability to have high school and college sports is going to depend on our ability to get the virus back under control as quickly as possible. The No. 1 thing we can do on that is to wear a mask."

That point was echoed by NCAA president Mark Emmert Thursday in the release of new guidelines for testing and social distancing for teams during practice and games.

"When we made the extremely difficult decision to cancel last spring’s championships it was because there was simply no way to conduct them safely,” Emmert said. “This document lays out the advice of health care professionals as to how to resume college sports if we can achieve an environment where COVID-19 rates are manageable. Today, sadly, the data point in the wrong direction. If there is to be college sports in the fall, we need to get a much better handle on the pandemic.”

Beshear specifically mentioned outbreaks in Lexington and eastern Kentucky among high school sports teams as worrisome at the moment.

The Herald-Leader reported Wednesday three athletes and one adult in Fayette County Public Schools reported that they have tested positive for COVID-19. The affected teams were volleyball and soccer at Lafayette High School and football and cheerleading at Frederick Douglass High School.

Meanwhile, the Big Ten and Pac-12 have already moved to cut their fall sports season to conference-only games, and several smaller conference have canceled fall sports all together.

More:What high school coaches at risk of coronavirus think about sports returning

The SEC and ACC are expected to announce plans fall sports by the end of the month.

Beshear pointed to Louisville City FC's home opener last week with an announced crowd of 4,850 fans as proof sports can happen, even with some fans in attendance, as long as Kentucky's coronavirus case numbers remain under control.

"It is possible, but it’s only possible if we’ve got the right rules and restrictions in place and we follow them," Beshear said. "If we don’t. If we don’t wear masks and follow some of these mandates, it’s not just sports we’re going to lose."

Before giving the go-ahead for college sports in Kentucky, Beshear said he will need to see the testing protocols put in place by the NCAA and local universities to ensure the safety of unpaid college athletes. He acknowledged high school sports will bring their own considerations since the resources for testing and cleaning might not be as available as in professional or college sports.

He acknowledged altering the normal sports schedule to "make sure it can be as safe as it can be" has to be considered.

While pessimism about college and high school sports happening this fall has grown in recent weeks, Beshear is not ready to rule them out.

"I truly believe that there is a real possibility, and that possibility depends on all of us doing our part," he said. "If we all woke up tomorrow and said the next month we’re staying 6 feet away from everybody but our family, we are going to wear a mask everywhere we go, we’re going to wash our hands like we need to, we’re going to be as good as we can to do the things week now defeats the virus, then yes, I think we could be in a position to not only start those sports but to have at least some folks there in the stands to watch. It is certainly possible."

Jon Hale:jahale@courier-journal.com; Twitter:@JonHale_CJ. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today:www.courier-journal.com/jonh.