Tennessee delays decision on start of 2020 high school football season

tssaa is the governing body of tennessee high school football
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A decision from the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association on when the 2020 high school football season will start is on hold. The TSSAA was expected to make a decision Wednesday, but a vote on one four possible scenarios was delayed.

Read: TSSAA develops contingency plans

“We are working with the Governor’s legal counsel and based on the conversation we are having, we think it is best to delay any vote on a contingency plan,” said Bernard Childress, Executive Director of the TSSAA.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s current executive order putting the Volunteer State in a State of Emergency through August 29th.

“The Governor’s legal counsel stated that they need time to observe the data and work with us,” said Childress. “There will come a time when we will have to make a decision on a contingency plan, but right now it is our opinion that we need to give their legal team the opportunity to see if it is needed in girls’ soccer and football.”

He added, “Their legal counselors are well aware of the TSSAA Sports Calendar and we will work to get an answer as soon as we can. TSSAA will not be making any further comment as the discussions with the Governor’s legal counsel are ongoing. If we have any chance of having fall sports, we encourage everyone to wear a mask, maintain physical distancing, and wash hands to help everyone reach the goal of getting the numbers down. The return on that investment would be that we do get to have fall sports on time this year.”

The TSSAA’s next meeting is scheduled for July 22nd.

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About the Author

Jeff Fisher
Jeff is an award-winning journalist and expert in the field of high school sports, underscored with his appearance on CNBC in 2010 to talk about the big business of high school football in America.Jeff turned to his passion for high school football into an entrepreneurial venture called High School Football America, a digital media company focused on producing original high school sports content for radio, television and the internet.Jeff is co-founder and editor-in-chief of High School Football America, a partner with NFL Play Football.