A high school football game in Florida was stopped at halftime due to COVID-19 concerns over the weekend.
According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Broward County Athletic Association called Dillard’s matchup with Deerfield Beach with Dillard leading 21-0 at halftime. Dillard was awarded the win after Deerfield Beach players left the field at the end of the second quarter, as Dillard was not comfortable returning for the second half after a Deerfield Beach player had shown COVID-19 symptoms at a clinic.
“Dillard said they didn’t feel comfortable going back out on the field,” Deerfield Beach head coach Jevon Glenn wrote in a text message to reporter Adam Lichtenstein. “Once they told Dillard that the player participated in the game, Dillard said they were uncomfortable continuing the game. We pulled the player from the game in the second quarter.”
Glenn then took to Twitter after the game, saying that he was not aware of the player’s symptoms and questioning why the issue was not addressed before the game instead of at halftime.
“Why wasn’t the game canceled beforehand. If they were so worried about COVID, my team and my life was in danger as well,” Glenn said. “I guess we are only protecting the football players and not all the students and staff he has been around all week.”
The decision to stop the game was mutual, according to the Broward County Athletic Association. Dillard is now 2-0 on the season, while Deerfield Beach sits at 1-1.
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