Publisher’s Note
By Kirk Kern
I just got off the phone with a long-time friend of mine who vented for almost an hour about the coronavirus crisis. He’s very upset about non-action from Governor Sisolak on this issue.
It doesn’t have to do with either shutting down the economy when he did, but it does have to do with not bringing back a small segment of the lifestyle of many Nevada parents and their kids.
My friend sees no reason why baseball fields and other outdoor recreational facilities are still closed when casinos are open and jammed pack with patrons, many of whom are puffing on cigarettes.
“I don’t understand how you can say its OK for a bunch of smoking adults, who are very susceptible to the virus, can go gamble at a casino but it’s not OK for kids, who aren’t quite as susceptible can’t go out and play baseball,” he said.
He even brought up the fact that youth sports were actually mentioned in the governor’s most recent phase release as something that could happen soon, but while he opened up tennis and pickle ball courts, he said baseball diamonds and other sports fields must remain closed.
Why?
Some sports have a little more contact than others, which is why Nevada Youth Soccer President Guy Hobbs has proposed their own phased entry which would limit any physical contact among players in the first stage. He’s even talked with Gov. Sisolak about this plan, but soccer fields remain closed.
Baseball is another story, though. It inherently has a fair amount of social distancing to begin with. Even on smaller Little League fields, the players on the field are easily more than six feet apart. The closest anyone gets is at home plate, where the batter, catcher and umpire are bunched tight.
Sure, sometimes players might come into contact with a ball that someone else may have touched a few seconds earlier, but in most cases it would have been flying through the air or rolling on the ground for awhile before the next person comes into contact.
I’ve written a few stories now about some high school players who have missed their senior baseball and softball seasons, and they can be heartbreaking. But what about all the Little League players who didn’t get to play this past couple months? At this level, which is recreational play, most of these kids won’t go on to play further than Little League.
Right now, the Little League programs that have Fall Ball seasons are still in limbo on whether the season will come about. Same with rec league softball.
There is a petition going around online that is asking for people across the state to sign to get the governor to open up fields and facilities for youth sports. So far, almost 2,000 people have signed on. I signed it, and both my kids are past the age of youth sports.
Click to sign the petition