Reconsideration of the November 19th, 2020 Motion to Begin Athletics
Reconsideration of the November 19th, 2020 Motion to Begin Athletics
The Issue
2020-2021 Football Team
C.E. Jordan High School
6806 Garrett Rd
Durham, NC 27707
Durham Public School Board
511 Cleveland Street
Durham, NC 27702
RE: November 19th, 2020 Motion to Begin Athletics
Dear Durham Public School Board Chairman and Members,
(Bettina Umstead, Mike Lee, Natalie Beyer, Jovonia Lewis, Matt Sears, Alexandra Valladares, Frederick Ravin)
We, the members of the C.E. Jordan High School Football Team, are writing this appeal to you as student-athletes of Durham. We are concerned about not being able to start voluntary workouts and begin athletics. On September 8th, the NCHSAA introduced amended skill development guidelines to ensure our safety during workouts. In addition, on September 8th, the NCHSAA released an amended athletic calendar for all sports that states that the first contest for Football is scheduled for February 26, 2021, and that teams will be able to begin officially recognized practices on February 8th, 2021. Currently, 87% of the NCHSAA member schools have begun or agreed to begin voluntary workouts. Of that 87%, that includes 90% of the student population state-wide in North Carolina who have been given the ability to safely begin workouts. A well recognized University of Wisconsin public health study has shown that participating in high school sports for 14-17 year old athletes carried no significant COVID-19 risks. From that study, none of the COVID-19 cases that were found resulted in hospitalization or death. Of the 209 cases in the sample, only one positive coronavirus test could be identified to have stemmed from participating in sports. Currently, 68% of states are participating in fall sports, most of which have concluded their seasons and began playoffs with very little issue.
As a team, our belief is that without your support to begin voluntary workouts before February 8th, 2021, there will be insufficient time to properly prepare for any season that would align with the proposed NCHSAA calendar. Workouts, physical conditioning, and adequate skill development periods are the most sound way to prevent injury in contests. Despite that concern, we would like to highlight several other points below that are in direct alignment with the lack of athletics the current decision proposes.
According to the NCAA, 14% of Division 1 athletes are first-generation college students. Of that percentage, 47% of first-generation students strongly agreed they would have attended a four year college without athletics compared to 62% of non-first generation student-athletes. Football is one of the only ways some student-athletes can afford the opportunity to attend college. By removing athletics this season, you will be altering the lives of many students hoping to earn college scholarships in athletics.
Athletics teach players great teamwork skills, being disciplined, and many invaluable life lessons. Mentally, athletics serve as a compass for many young athletes to guide them through obstacles and adversity. It creates brotherhood and family that many student-athletes may not otherwise have access to while building unity within the student body and community. Football has a social effect on young minds as well. There are only a few places in today’s world where a diverse group of students from all walks of life become as interwoven as they do within a football program. Lastly, football teaches players about stable work ethic and determination. There is no success on the field, if there is no hard work being applied at practice and through purposeful preparation. Externally, it may seem like a simple game, and playing it amid the COVID-19 pandemic may seem an unnecessary risk; however, we know in our souls that without the game, many of our brothers will struggle. Many of us will stagger through this time when nothing appears to be done with our voices being heard and continue to face adversity without the support of our time together on the field.
In accordance with the NCHSAA, our administrators, coaches, and county athletic director have developed stringent protocols to keep us safe as we begin voluntary workouts. Players would be assigned in groups or PODS that will limit the scale of contact that we share during workouts and will aid in contact tracing if any adverse situation were to arise. Our athletic department has secured additional PPE to assist in the efforts to disinfect every surface we may come in contact with at every juncture it may be contacted. Our Coaches have been able to acknowledge that they are willing to remain stringent in the protocols that have been set in place, and those of us that choose to participate in workouts will also agree to those same procedures.
We humbly ask that you reconsider the motion to begin sports in Durham Public Schools. In addition, we ask that you give us the opportunity to have a voice in this decision and that you allow us the opportunity to weigh the costs associated with the COVID-19 risks. Protocols and procedures have been developed since June of 2020 that are designed to keep us safe in the face of danger, and we ask that you let us show you we are willing to adhere to those fully in order to play the sport we love with our brothers we love.
We thank you in advance for your willingness to consider our concerns and hear our voices.
With hopeful and humble hearts, we look forward to hearing your decision and hope that you will support us fully as those who have willingly signed this petition.
Respectfully submitted,
The Charles E. Jordan Football Team
Sources
https://operations.nfl.com/updates/football-ops/nfl-covid-19-policies-and-procedures/
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/playing-sports.html
https://mdsoar.org/bitstream/handle/11603/16685/EsbrandtEric_paper.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/first-their-family
The Issue
2020-2021 Football Team
C.E. Jordan High School
6806 Garrett Rd
Durham, NC 27707
Durham Public School Board
511 Cleveland Street
Durham, NC 27702
RE: November 19th, 2020 Motion to Begin Athletics
Dear Durham Public School Board Chairman and Members,
(Bettina Umstead, Mike Lee, Natalie Beyer, Jovonia Lewis, Matt Sears, Alexandra Valladares, Frederick Ravin)
We, the members of the C.E. Jordan High School Football Team, are writing this appeal to you as student-athletes of Durham. We are concerned about not being able to start voluntary workouts and begin athletics. On September 8th, the NCHSAA introduced amended skill development guidelines to ensure our safety during workouts. In addition, on September 8th, the NCHSAA released an amended athletic calendar for all sports that states that the first contest for Football is scheduled for February 26, 2021, and that teams will be able to begin officially recognized practices on February 8th, 2021. Currently, 87% of the NCHSAA member schools have begun or agreed to begin voluntary workouts. Of that 87%, that includes 90% of the student population state-wide in North Carolina who have been given the ability to safely begin workouts. A well recognized University of Wisconsin public health study has shown that participating in high school sports for 14-17 year old athletes carried no significant COVID-19 risks. From that study, none of the COVID-19 cases that were found resulted in hospitalization or death. Of the 209 cases in the sample, only one positive coronavirus test could be identified to have stemmed from participating in sports. Currently, 68% of states are participating in fall sports, most of which have concluded their seasons and began playoffs with very little issue.
As a team, our belief is that without your support to begin voluntary workouts before February 8th, 2021, there will be insufficient time to properly prepare for any season that would align with the proposed NCHSAA calendar. Workouts, physical conditioning, and adequate skill development periods are the most sound way to prevent injury in contests. Despite that concern, we would like to highlight several other points below that are in direct alignment with the lack of athletics the current decision proposes.
According to the NCAA, 14% of Division 1 athletes are first-generation college students. Of that percentage, 47% of first-generation students strongly agreed they would have attended a four year college without athletics compared to 62% of non-first generation student-athletes. Football is one of the only ways some student-athletes can afford the opportunity to attend college. By removing athletics this season, you will be altering the lives of many students hoping to earn college scholarships in athletics.
Athletics teach players great teamwork skills, being disciplined, and many invaluable life lessons. Mentally, athletics serve as a compass for many young athletes to guide them through obstacles and adversity. It creates brotherhood and family that many student-athletes may not otherwise have access to while building unity within the student body and community. Football has a social effect on young minds as well. There are only a few places in today’s world where a diverse group of students from all walks of life become as interwoven as they do within a football program. Lastly, football teaches players about stable work ethic and determination. There is no success on the field, if there is no hard work being applied at practice and through purposeful preparation. Externally, it may seem like a simple game, and playing it amid the COVID-19 pandemic may seem an unnecessary risk; however, we know in our souls that without the game, many of our brothers will struggle. Many of us will stagger through this time when nothing appears to be done with our voices being heard and continue to face adversity without the support of our time together on the field.
In accordance with the NCHSAA, our administrators, coaches, and county athletic director have developed stringent protocols to keep us safe as we begin voluntary workouts. Players would be assigned in groups or PODS that will limit the scale of contact that we share during workouts and will aid in contact tracing if any adverse situation were to arise. Our athletic department has secured additional PPE to assist in the efforts to disinfect every surface we may come in contact with at every juncture it may be contacted. Our Coaches have been able to acknowledge that they are willing to remain stringent in the protocols that have been set in place, and those of us that choose to participate in workouts will also agree to those same procedures.
We humbly ask that you reconsider the motion to begin sports in Durham Public Schools. In addition, we ask that you give us the opportunity to have a voice in this decision and that you allow us the opportunity to weigh the costs associated with the COVID-19 risks. Protocols and procedures have been developed since June of 2020 that are designed to keep us safe in the face of danger, and we ask that you let us show you we are willing to adhere to those fully in order to play the sport we love with our brothers we love.
We thank you in advance for your willingness to consider our concerns and hear our voices.
With hopeful and humble hearts, we look forward to hearing your decision and hope that you will support us fully as those who have willingly signed this petition.
Respectfully submitted,
The Charles E. Jordan Football Team
Sources
https://operations.nfl.com/updates/football-ops/nfl-covid-19-policies-and-procedures/
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/playing-sports.html
https://mdsoar.org/bitstream/handle/11603/16685/EsbrandtEric_paper.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/first-their-family
Petition Closed
Share this petition
The Decision Makers
Petition Updates
Share this petition
Petition created on November 20, 2020