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| Youth Baseball leagues and tournaments will be starting soon in Florida, with Governor DeSantis' executive order from Friday removing restrictions on such activities. Some parents want these tournaments to resume--but some remain concerned about safety amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Here below are two perspectives on this topic..... |
This past Friday Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order lifting the limitations and restrictions on youth sports and leagues.
Not surprisingly, youth baseball tournaments will begin again soon----- and one has already been scheduled for June 10th at District 1's Southwest Sports Complex on Bauer Road.
A part of me is extremely happy to see our youth begin to compete again--albeit with commonsense restrictions and stipulations that mirror CDC guidelines and recommendations. It will never again be as it was when all three of my children competed throughout the southeast in travel leagues and tournaments in soccer and baseball a decade ago. It will, unfortunately, never be quite like that again I don't think. But the governor believes we can start up youth activities again safely, as demonstrated by his EO. I agree.
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| What was once a common, heartwarming sight on ball fields throughout America (prayer huddles like this one from 2012) prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic--- will sadly probably not be seen again anytime in the near future. But youth baseball will be returning soon with some guidelines and social-distancing protocols in place..... |
Nevertheless--- some parents remain very concerned about safety. I understand their concerns but I also believe it is time to re-open. We simply cannot stay in a perpetual lockdown forever. Any parent that is concerned obviously maintains the right and the ability not to participate and not to have their own children participate. I corresponded with just such a parent today. His email is first, my response directly below.
"Commissioners
Bergosh and Underhill :
A
USSSA baseball tournament scheduled for June 10--14th to be held in Orange
Beach, AL has been moved to Escambia County to be held at the SW Escambia
Sportsplex. This decision was made by the tournament director(Scott
Mobley) in order to bypass Covid 19 regulations released by the Alabama
Governor that would have forced him to postpone/cancel the
tournament.
This
tournament has 49 teams registered from 11 different states ranging in ages of
9-13 years old. This will be a huge event with well over 1,000 people all
at 1 facility. Frankly, I am disappointed that you would endorse/allow
such an event to be held in Escambia County at that particular time.
Furthermore, comparing the Covid 19 Statistics in Baldwin County(269 Cases 8
Deaths) and Escambia County(734 Cases 24 Deaths) make your endorsement of such
an event ridiculous and acting with a complete disregard for the well being of
the children participating as well as the citizens of Escambia County.
Unfortunately,
I know this decision or allowance is strictly financial. Which again, is
shocking considering most if not all: Lodging, Restaurant, Entertainment
revenues generated by this event will be taken in by Baldwin County NOT
Escambia County.
I am
simply asking that you please pause, truly think about how risky this event is
at this particular time and you are providing a venue to possibly expose
children and the citizens of Escambia County to a possible outbreak that is
beyond unnecessary at this particular time.
Money
can be made at a later time, Revenue can be recovered at a later date, Human
lives cannot.
By
the way, I am a parent of a player on a team registered for this event. I
am also a public school educator and a coach.
Do
you want to be responsible for an outbreak in your area to exacerbate a problem
like this???
Is
MONEY and TAX REVENUE more important than the safety and well being of
children??
Do
the right thing.
Sincerely,
A
concerned Father."
My Response
"Mr. XXXXXXXXX,
Like
you I am concerned about safety—now more than ever. But Governor DeSantis
has been very meticulous and thoughtful in his reopening plan, and The Escambia
BCC has followed this guidance. His most recent executive order allows
youth sports with some commonsense recommendations and stipulations. I
understand your concern, and if you feel it is not safe for you and your young
child to participate—I would encourage you not to participate.
A
couple of things to consider: If the tournament is held here, I believe a
significant portion of the players and families will stay in Escambia County in
either Perdido Key or Pensacola Beach. I know this because all three of
my children played youth travel sports all over the Southeast---and we would
always stay at the nearest “resort” type area within a short drive of the
sports venue---as did the lion’s share of fellow players and families. I
have to assume that tendency has not abated.
As
I study the data, trends, and numbers on this disease locally---I happen to
believe that we have flattened the curve locally as it pertains to new positive
cases and especially as it relates to hospitalizations and ventilator
capacity-- and that our Governor has done an excellent job—balancing safety and
the economy to come up with a plan that has worked and is working. I say
this because when compared to the draconian lockdown, shelter-in-place complete
off-switch plans of states that are smaller than Florida (like New York and New
Jersey)—where Governors there have pressed the pause button on life—our numbers
here (deaths in particular) are much smaller in comparison—thankfully
(29,031 Deaths in New York, 11,082 Deaths in New Jersey, 2,233 Deaths if
Florida) . Although we mourn every life lost and we pray for all the victims of
this horrible plague with which we are contending----- Florida and leaders in
Florida are doing it right or at a minimum much closer to “right” than are
other states as illustrated above, so far as I can tell.
And
at some point we have to re-open. We simply cannot let our country
totally and completely devolve economically; otherwise, there will be nothing
left to salvage when we overcome this horrible Wuhan Chinese
Coronavirus—COVID-19 that has claimed nearly 100,000 lives in our country.
We will beat this virus, we will fully uncover the whole and accurate
story of how this happened to us and who allowed this to happen, and those that
contributed to this disaster will be held accountable. This is what I
believe.
We
are Americans, and we will overcome!
Sincerely,
Jeff
Bergosh
Escambia
Board of County Commissioners,
District
1"
3 comments:
Why do you insist on using Wuhan Chinese Coronavirus ? You and I have discussed this before. The cases in this country came almost exclusively from Europe. So if you really want descriptors you should probably add Europe or European. Calling it Wuhan Chinese is a dog whistle which causes pain to Escambia county’s rather large Asian community. It inflames the less informed to discriminate against all Asians. Please stop it. It is not necessary.
Sybil----I'll answer this a couple of ways for you. #1--Chinese and Wuhan in this context does not connotate a person or a people--- it is descriptor, an "adjective" in this context--not a noun. Like, the "Spanish" Flu or the "German" measles. Are those names derogatory or racist? Answer, NO--of course not--and neither is this no matter how many politically-correct lemmings would have one believe. This descriptive adjective, Chinese, signifies the "where" a disease came from. Not unlike the "Hong Kong" Flu or the "Middle East" Respiratory Syndrome..... It's an adjective is not pejorative. And there is no doubt at all, actually it is indisputable, the fact that this virus came from Wuhan, China. #2--I can use this term and many do; I'm not going to exclusively utilize the milquetoast, homogenized term the Chinese Communist party and their propaganda machine would prefer and that most others use. I think China has a lot of explaining to do when the smoke clears on this, and they have culpability in the disastrous consequences caused by this Pandemic. I believe they will ultimately be held accountable for the lies they told, the evidence they withheld, and the unseemly way in which they siphoned up the world's PPE while they hid behind the fiction they spun that this virus was not spreading human to human and there was no community spread. Chinese Coronavirus from Wuhan China.
The virus is the CCP China Communist Party virus. They subdued the information about the novel virus from the beginning -- arrested journalists and doctors for trying to inform the world, way before it got to Europe Sybil.
If you are a communist or socialist supporting censorship and tyranny in our country, then be offended otherwise-- wake up and smell the coffee.
Type Eposh Times in your search engine and look back at the first of the year for articles about Coronavirus.
and PLUEEZZ with the racist comments..
Ineffective.. ask Jim Crow Joe..Biden. Democrats= leftists= hate our country.
For the lighter side check out the page Occupy Democrats Logic, the one with about 1 million likes and the Babylon Bee, for a little fun and realize, the American people aren't as stupid as the muedia and some whiny whimps crybaby, know it alls on facebook want you to think.
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