California has postponed the start of high school sports while allowing college and professional sports to continue, leading to criticism from prominent basketball figure LeBron James.
Coming off an NBA championship win with the Los Angeles Lakers, James took to Twitter to question why college and soon NBA teams can play while high school teams cannot.
His tweet read, “Trying to figure out how there is College California basketball teams playing, soon to be Pro teams playing but not High School teams playing,” highlighting the disparity.
One high school athlete affected by the delay is Bronny James, part of the class of 2023 and drawing interest from colleges like Kentucky, Duke, and Kansas according to 24/7 Sports.
The surge in COVID-19 cases prompted the California Interscholastic Federation to delay the sports season, with the organization stating that it is a necessary step to protect member schools, athletes, and communities given the current crisis. The revised 2020-21 sports calendar aims to provide flexibility for sections and leagues to plan for a safe return to practice and competition once updated health guidance is issued by the California Department of Public Health.
