Montgomery County student athletes rally for high school football

When will fall sports get to compete in Montgomery County

Parents and student-athletes are demanding answers from Montgomery County for restrictions placed on high contact sports like football – while most sports are well underway in surrounding counties.

ROCKVILLE, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - For two weeks of fall sports, student-athletes in Montgomery County were able to play the game they love, participating in conditioning and non-contact drills.

But now, Montgomery County guidelines say there’s a limit to what kind of activities the student-athletes can participate in, and some student-athletes say that isn’t fair.

In Fairfax County – and in private schools – football season is in full swing.

Some of Montgomery County’s high school football players say the district’s rules are unfair compared to other counties – and on Sunday they rallied to change them.

Along with the players, parents and coaches were involved. They’re contesting the rule that says football and cheerleading are high-risk.

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Some Montgomery County student athletes say guidelines are not fair

Some members of Montgomery County's high school football community say the district's guidelines regarding high school football aren't fair.

"Football in Carroll County was played Friday night. WCAC [the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference] had games yesterday – so football is being played. We had over 40 states play full seasons during the fall. There’s no reason these children cannot play.

There’s no data showing anything that football contributed to the spread of corona – I’m sorry. Let the kids play," said Tara Lee, a football parent.

The players expected to have a three-game season. While that isn’t much, they’d hoped to have a little game film at least.

Dr. Lavanya Sithanandam, a pediatrician and a Montgomery County sports mom, took to Twitter to challenge the district’s guideline.

Other sports like field hockey, soccer and volleyball are classified as medium risk. Those sports are permitted to have full scrimmages in advance of a competition season.

Montgomery County public schools say they’re going to assume the competitive season will begin March 26.

The season must end in April because the district has to get one more sports season in.

Coaches say they this time if they are going to have competition.

They say the players need contact and protective gear in order to prepare the athletes.

The council is planning to revisit some of the guidelines on March 26 – in time to see whether the season can begin.

Many supporters say the county is using outdated guidelines from last spring.

The National Federation of High School Associations stopped ranking sports by risk, saying what’s more important is the level of community spread and infection control measures.