Student athletes in Montgomery County have faced different rules for COVID-19 than their peers. Though vaccines are not mandated for non-athletes, winter and spring athletes are required to be vaccinated, unless they want to use a newly announced religious exemption. Sports teams also continued to have practices, while non-athletic extracurricular activities were banned during the peak of the Omicron variant in December 2021 and January 2022.
Now, MCPS Athletics says masks are optional for athletes, coaching staff and officials, even when they are not actively playing. In a Feb. 25 letter to the community, MCPS announced that the updated guidelines would go into effect starting Mar. 1.
“The wearing of masks/face coverings will be optional for student-athletes, coaches, and officials while participating in practices, team activities, and contests across the program (all sports). This also includes on team benches and to and from locker rooms,” the letter said. “Spectators and other event personnel must continue to wear masks at all times indoors.”
After consultation with the MCPS Athletics COVID-19 Task Force, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services and the county’s Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, there was a “[unanimous]” vote to make masks optional. Officials justified this decision by citing the vaccine requirement, reduced community spread and the fact that most spring sports are held outdoors, unlike winter sports. Accordingly, public health officials have continued to state that the risk of transmission is lower outside than inside.
“MCPS student-athletes have led the way with demonstrating their commitment to health and safety—both in competition and in the community—by complying with the vaccination requirement and following the procedures and protocols outlined in our Return to R.A.I.S.E. Plan,” MCPS Athletics Director Dr. Jeffrey Sullivan said. “Their dedication and resiliency provided a strong foundational base for the decision to move forward with the new mask guidance. We will continue to walk hand-in-hand with our medical professionals through the COVID-19 Task Force to ensure our protocols are consistent with the latest guidance.”
Sullivan also noted that some athletes have been operating in a mask-optional environment since November.
“The remaining winter sports of basketball, swimming/diving, and wrestling have operated with mask exemptions since the onset of the season (Nov. 15)—the new guidance additionally allows for optional masks on benches and during transition to locker rooms,” Sullivan said.
The decision, which began on the first day of the spring season, followed mask rule updates. On Feb. 25, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new guidelines about masking, saying that people should “wear a mask indoors in public” if their county had a high community transmission rate. On that day, Montgomery County had a low community transmission rate.
“I want to thank the State Board of Education for heeding our call to rescind its school mask policy. This action aligns with the data and the science,” Gov. Larry Hogan (R – Md.) said in a statement on Feb. 22.
Hogan said this after the decision by the Maryland State Board of Education, which voted 12-2 to repeal the statewide mask mandate in schools. MCPS is expected to make an announcement about mask-wearing in the school system on Mar. 8. The county has also lifted its indoor mask mandate.
While Sullivan says the response was positive, there were some community members who questioned why athletes could go mask-optional while other students could not. They see it as an example of favoritism for athletics over non-athletic extracurriculars. But Sullivan pushed back against those claims.
“We have worked collaboratively with non-athletic extracurricular activities and fine arts throughout the pandemic—really growing stronger in our partnership,” Sullivan said. “Both are represented on our COVID-19 Task Force, which allows for us to work together real-time. Any variance has been primarily due to the vaccination requirement for MCPS Athletics.”
The letter from MCPS Athletics also noted that student athletes will only have to quarantine or isolate for five days, compared to the previous guidance of 10 days.
The hope with this mask-optional move is that it leads a return to normal.
“Since last February, MCPS Athletics has led the way with providing opportunities to promote physical, mental, and social-emotional health for student-athletes, staff, schools, and our communities,” Sullivan said. “Each step of the way has been towards a return to normal.”
Article by Jeremy Fredericks of Winston Churchill High School
Graphic by Tanya Paul of Richard Montgomery High School