High school football doubtful in the fall, according to Dallas schools superintendent
The Dallas schools superintendent has cast doubt on whether high school football would be able to be played this fall in a televised interview with MSNBC on Thursday.
“That’s a true contact sport, I don’t see how we can pull that off,” Dallas ISD superintendent Michael Hinojosa said to MSNBC correspondent Garrett Haake. “There’s been some discussion of moving it to the spring, but we’ll have to wait and see. I don’t, I seriously doubt that we can pull that off.”
The coronavirus pandemic claimed some winter championships and the spring season on March 13. It also meant no spring football and 7-on-7 state tournament. School campuses have also been closed since March, although schools are supposed to reopen next month.
Hinojosa also told Haake that the start date for Dallas ISD schools could be pushed back from Aug. 17 into September. “Initially that was a backup plan that I had, but now that backup plan is becoming more of a reality.”
The Texas Education Agency released school guidelines on Tuesday stating that students returning to campuses this fall must screen themselves for symptoms for COVID-19 and must wear masks if Gov. Greg Abbott’s order mandating them is still in place.
The University Interscholastic League released new guidelines on Wednesday that dealt with high school workouts returning on July 13, which included mandatory masks while entering and exiting, and for anyone not actively exercising.
The UIL hasn’t announced any changes to the football season and has said it still plans to start on time.
Tentative football dates found on the UIL website include Aug. 8 as first day of full contact, Aug. 13 as first scrimmages and Aug. 27 as the start of regular season games.
This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 12:26 PM.
