Now I’m Pissed- The Newest Mandate for Youth Contact Sports

**This is a boring rant so no worries if you don’t want to read. This is a purely cathartic post. 

I have adhered to all things requested of me during this pandemic. I dutifully work hard at home for my job. I wear a mask every time I’m in public. When my son argued about wearing a mask on the plane, I demanded he put it back on or face consequences. But now, at exactly midnight yesterday, they’ve gone too far.

In the most recent mandate regarding youth contact sports, Ohio is demanding that every player, coach and ref, be tested for Covid-19 no more than 72 hours before a game. Then, at the game, you must present to your negative results. If a player does test positive, the entire game is canceled.

Setting Them Up to Fail

At the recommendation of a Facebook page I follow, I called our state Coronavirus hotline to ask where I can take our asymptomatic child to be tested and get the results, all within 72 hours. She responded there isn’t such a place. In fact, she said to receive a rapid test, it would have to be ordered by a doctor and would be a blood test.

So I did the math. My oldest would have to have this invasive test 8 times in 1 month, 3 of which would all be in one week. Many say, “money should not be an issue”. Please come off your delusional little cloud and realize, most can’t afford the out of pocket cost for that many tests. My kid is going to look like a heroin addict after being tested that much. And don’t get me started on what a complete waste this would be of Coronavirus tests.

Hey, let’s test the healthiest, most athletic Ohio citizens. 

Totally makes sense.

And yet, sports like volleyball and baseball, you don’t need tested. I don’t have an athletic bone in my body but I do know that players run into each other during volleyball. I know that baseball players slide into each other occasionally and sit in cramped dugouts. Players spit throughout games and sweat. Have you been to a soccer field? It’s humongous! I sometimes can’t even see my kids playing because of how far away they are.

So once again, the children will more than likely be home for school and the outlet of sports is also being taken from them. I’m probably going to get a lot of shit for this and I really don’t care. I can’t sit by and watch my children and other children I care about fall into depression. I mean, think about if this stuff has been tough on you. Has it? Now imagine a still-developing brain try to process this. I believe we’ve crossed the line of precaution and the mental effects the precautions are having. The children are suffering from this isolation and not having these healthy outlets. Is it riskier to play with just a temp check? Sure but with everything in life, we have to weigh the consequences and rewards.

The virus is here and we have to learn to live with it because it’s not going away for a long time.