North Central High School student-athletes fight for chance to play
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — For the past week, North Central High School students and parents made the argument that Washington Township School board members should at least consider letting some sports go on in the fall, even though their classes will be online.
This comes after the board voted to suspend all in-person extracurricular activities, athletic events and programs during a meeting on July 13.
Families hoped for the chance to state their case at Wednesday night’s board meeting, but that didn’t happen. The board did not take an official vote on sports or no sports, so for now the suspension still stands.
They discussed putting together a special committee to help focus on this topic but said they would not make any official decisions until they hear more from Dr. Virginia Caine and Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett.
Student-athletes put together a video defending their position to allow sports in the fall. They also have support from students who graduated this year, including Sami Loggan.
Loggan is the daughter of former North Central Athletic Director Paul Loggan, who died of COVID-19 in April.
Dan Green is one of many parents advocating for his child. His daughters Grace and Gabby are both student-athletes.
Gabby graduated this year. She ran track and was part of North Central’s 2019 championship team. She lost part of her senior year because of the pandemic but her younger sister Grace, who also runs track and is a football manager, still has a chance.
“These are kids that rely on sports, running, exercise to get rid of the stress they already carry around with them as teenagers and there’s a lot of it,” said Dan Green.
He said he respects the board’s decisions but wishes parents and students would have had the chance to share their feelings on the topic.
“We should have been given more of an argument as to why they made the decision they did and as parents, it’s telling people that voted against athletics and opening schools, they don’t trust us.”
The board discussed holding a follow-up meeting with coaches and the school’s athletic director next week but did not give any additional information.