The Phoenix Union High School District announced Friday that it would be cancelling all fall sports due to coronavirus concerns.
District officials have not set a date for when sports can return and have instead said that sports and extracurricular activities will be allowed to resume once community spread of COVID-19 drops to acceptable levels.
"We made a very difficult decision (to) postpone Phoenix Union sports until it safer to do so," District superintendent Dr. Chad Gestson said.
Professional leagues like the NBA have the resources to quarantine players in a bubble — something the high school district can’t do, especially because Phoenix still has large-scale community spread of COVID-19, Gestson said.
"What health experts tell us is that it’s safe to come back with community spread and test positivity is around 5 to 7%," he said. "Right now in central Phoenix it's around 15% — 3 times what health experts tell us is safe to return."
Gestson says coaches will stay engaged with players, and assign workouts and virtual team meetings to keep teams as connected as possible, so teams can return once health benchmarks are met.
