Taking a few moments to make a thread clearing up the most common questions/comments of confusion I saw yesterday....

A popular comment I saw is that states nearby are allowing tackle football why isn’t Mass:

. I’d be pretty careful with such an assumption. Sure some states now are saying they “plan” on it, but no one has actually kicked off and states like CT are in disarray over the issue.

One big concern I know among many was the prospect of having a season start and then having to shut it down after a few weeks. That’s especially prevalent in football. No reason to take that risk when you have better shot to play longer season later on in the year.

Some have asked “what’s the level at which it becomes OK to have these high risk sports”

There’s no clear answer here, but a key is what kind of spike in #s is there when schools return coupled with low/mo risk sports. It’: hard to jump into the high risk pool until we know that

Clear sports like soccer and field hockey will have to make modifcations in order to play that will be challenging but aren’t impossible.

Some have said those sports should just cancel and try later, that’s pretty risky. Make the adjustments. Play if you have the chance.

NO sports have been canceled for the year, and there will be a big push coming - pending DESE commissioner Riley’s comments - to put high risk sports into their own season later in the year so they can be played.

The EEA and DESE are not releasing this guidance solely on their own. Throughout they have met with MIAA ADs, the DPH, Epidemiologists, and staff from the Governors and Lt Governors office. You can disagree, but to say a variety of perspectives haven’t been sought is false.