FHSAA cheats Miami-Dade high schools out of a chance to be football champs again | Opinion

On Aug. 14, the Florida High School Athletic Association’s board of directors approved Aug. 24 as the start of practice for the fall sports seasons, including football. Under the FHSAA’s plan, the regular season will start on Sept. 4, and there will be a nine-week regular season. As in past years, there will be playoffs in November and a state championship in December.

Of course, this isn’t like past years in one major respect: the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has had an undeniable impact on this country — and on Florida and Miami-Dade County, in particular. And, in the sports arena, it’s already led major college football conferences to cancel the football season. The FHSAA however, plans to move forward as if it’s business as usual, with the only exception being that it’s giving high schools until Sept. 18 to opt-out of its proposed schedule and set their own, the consequence being that these schools can’t compete for a state championship.

The FHSAA plan is unacceptable. It effectively eliminates high schools from Miami-Dade County — high schools that won five of eight football championships last year — from competing for a state championship. The teams cannot realistically start practice on Aug. 24 because of COVID-19 restrictions in place. In addition, teams have to play nine regular-season games by November to qualify for playoff consideration. How can teams complete such a schedule if they don’t start their seasons by Sept. 4? And it’s particularly problematic for Miami-Dade teams, given that the School Board has mandated virtual learning at least until October. It’s fantasy to think that Miami-Dade High Schools can start practice in the near future.

There was no reason for the FHSAA to do this. It could have allowed for a later fall start date and contracted the regular season to district games only, awarding playoff spots based on scoring totals.

Those who think that the FHSAA’s decision won’t matter anyway — that the coronavirus will ultimately cause high school football in Florida to be canceled outright — should think again. There appears to be a real path to playing high school football safely this fall. Indeed, on Aug. 5, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio — himself a former standout football player at South Miami Senior High — wrote a detailed, science-based letter to Gov. DeSantis that outlined how high schools can safely get student athletes on the football field this fall. Miami-Dade County High Schools shouldn’t be deprived of the opportunity to try.

It’s not too late. The FHSAA can and should reconsider its approach as it relates to the county hit hardest by the coronavirus.

The student-athletes deserve it.

John R. Byrne is a partner at the law firm of León Cosgrove LLP and a former assistant U.S. attorney in Miami. He played high school football at Miami Palmetto Senior High school.

This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 2:51 PM.