A couple of weeks ago, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced that winter sports in the state will all be pushed back until March 1, which came after the initial postponement to January 11.
There are a lot of disappointed people at the decision, even going as far as to develop protest groups on social media with plans to head to the capitol on certain days to picket with signs to try to get Justice to change his mind on the start date.
Greenbrier East is of the many schools across the state affected by the order. The fact that in-person school starts on January 19, but no sports until March, and people are left scratching their heads.
Spartan boys’ basketball player, Tucker Via said he and his teammates are just really confused.
“Are you kidding me?” Via reacted after hearing the news.
“I was confused and disappointed. Student-athletes and coaches have been super patient throughout the first delay and we were confident we would be able to begin on January 11. It was confusing because the schools are opening five days per week. If the schools are opening, I think we need to be playing sports. Going to school without sports will make things harder and less normal than it already is”, Via continued.
Via has only slightly spoken with his teammates about everything, but the feelings they have are all mutual he says.
“I haven’t talked to my teammates that much about it, but the times that I have though, I can tell that they are confused and disappointed as well. I have talked to my coaches some. We are all staying ready and are prepared for what might happen next.” Via said.
Speaking of what may happen next, Via thinks a season can and should be played because of what has happened around the state at WVU and Marshall.
“A season can be played safely. WVU football had fans. Marshall had fans. If thousands of people can safely go to a football game, a couple hundred or so can go to a basketball game. This can be easily done by limiting the tickets sold ahead of time,” Via stated.
When asked why can colleges and professional leagues play, but high school cannot, Via was pretty sure for one reason.
“A big reason is because of how often players in college and professional are being tested. Also, the biggest reason is money. NFL teams and collegiate programs would go bankrupt without a season, but that only tells us why they’re playing. So what tells us why we aren’t?” Via asked.
“To me, there is no definitive answer. The group of people who are taking the biggest hit from all this are the younger generations. We can no longer let that happen,” Via said.
Even after all the questions and disappointment, Via still believes that Justice will make the right call.
“I am very confident we will begin our season March 1. I think our governor has done a fine job overall navigating this pandemic, and I think he’s going to make absolutely sure that all athletes and coaches will be able to enjoy their seasons,” Via said.
“For seniors though, we are more nervous. We may not get our last shot, and for me, that needs to be taken into careful consideration. But yes, we will have a season and I am ready for it. We are very grateful for everyone working hard to make it happen,” Via concluded.
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