High school basketball has become a political football. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has declared hoops a “high risk” sport in this era of coronavirus, and has said basketball season in Illinois will be moved to the spring.
But the Illinois High School Association, which oversees high school sports, has said the season will continue in the winter, with participation decisions up to individual schools or districts.
That decision has not been made yet at Evanston Township High School. Director of Athletics Chris Livatino tells Evanston Now, “Our district is currently in discussion to figure out the best course of action” for winter sports.
He adds, “The decision impacts not only the stakeholders of ETHS, but also the larger community of Evanston. We take this very seriously.”
Evanston Township High School has been on remote learning all fall, and Superintendent Eric Witherspoon has stated there are no plans to return to in-person schooling in 2020 due to COVID-19.
The largest district in the area, Chicago Public Schools, has postponed both boys and girls basketball until the spring or summer.