Student athletes are banned from competing indoors in California, where the NBA has four teams, and they’re suing Gavin Newsom.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California is being sued by a group of Southern Californian high school student-athletes over the state’s ban on indoor youth sports. While fans enjoy collegiate basketball games and other sports in states across the country — including in California where the San Diego State Aztecs men’s basketball team is currently ranked in the Associated Press’ top 25 list — Golden State high school athletes are being robbed of valuable time to compete. A “risk” guidance on youth sports from the California Department of Public Health lays out a seemingly endless number of reasons why kids are not allowed to participate in indoor competitions. “In general, the more people from outside their household with whom a person interacts, the closer the physical interaction is, the greater the physical exertion is, and the longer the interaction lasts, the higher the risk that a person with COVID-19 infection may spread it to others,” the state health department guidance reads. “Youth and adult sports include varied activities that have different levels of risk for transmission of COVID-19. Outdoor activities present significantly lower risk of transmission relative to comparative indoor activities, based on current scientific evidence. Competition between different teams also increases mixing across groups and outside of communities, which also contributes to the potential for spread of COVID-19 disease.
