Temporary Restraining Order Against IHSA Denied
DuPage County Judge Paul Fullerton denied a temporary restraining order against the IHSA Thursday afternoon. Had the motion been granted, the current plan of a four-sport season for the current academic year would have been suspended.
The hearing was made public via a Zoom conference call.
The suit, brought by three Chicagoland parents, alleged the IHSA violated its own constitution when the IHSA Board of Directors passed their guidelines for returning to play back in July. The plaintiffs argued the decision on returning to play should be voted on by the member schools.
Judge Fullerton stated that when looking at the IHSA constitution as a whole, the state governing body, “was within their authority,” to take the action they did.
Fullerton discussed the pandemic and how society has been forced to adapt as well.
A status hearing to determine the direction of this case will occur Monday morning.
Late Thursday afternoon IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson issued a statement that ended with the following.
“This lawsuit shines a light on the need for more data and transparency from IDPH and state leadership on what benchmarks need to be accomplished in order for the IHSA to conduct further sports offerings,” began Anderson. “We have and will continue to lobby our contacts at the state and IDPH levels, providing them with relevant data from across the country. If there are no changes by IDPH and state leadership, we will continue with our contingency plan of offering IHSA sports in the winter, spring, and summer. Our goal remains to provide every IHSA student-athlete the opportunity to compete in their respective sport or sports in 2020-21.”
