Despite rainy weather, a peaceful protest held in Palmerton Borough Park had a great turnout Saturday morning. Starting at 9 a.m., parents and students gathered at the park to show their support for various fall and winter programs that are facing setbacks amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Particularly, the Palmerton football team is affected. Due to the delay of the Colonial and Schuylkill League merger until 2021, Palmerton’s football team is only set to play six games this year starting on Sept. 25.

Many of these football players have been involved in the sport throughout their school year. Seniors Joey DeRossi and Hunter Connell have played football since kindergarten. The delay limits their playing experience and it could be a detriment to their college careers as well.

DeRossi said, “I am planning on going to college for football and I have to get highlights out there and show colleges what I got. I can’t do that with just a junior year. I have a lot riding on this year and this season and we only have six games.”

Connell said a lot of college coaches were interested in attending his high school scrimmages to watch him play. Now with these games pushed back due to COVID-19, it complicates things.

DeRossi also explained the precautions coaches and football players undertook throughout their summer training camp. “We’ve been training since July 1 and have been taking a lot of measures to make sure that we’re doing everything correctly so we don’t get shut down,” he said. “Before we even go onto the field we have to get our temperature checked every day and we have to fill out a survey with a QR scan that we got and make sure no one is doing anything that they shouldn’t be doing that could get them sick with the virus. Also we’ve been social distancing and wearing our masks during practice when we need to.”

DeRossi said the decision should be made by students themselves.

“I don’t think it’s fair to us how we don’t get a say and how (the school board) can just take it away from us. It’s not right. Like if we want to take the risk with the virus we should be able to do that.”

Palmerton Board President Kathy Fallow said last week that, “board members have been working hard reviewing guidance from several sources in preparation for our discussion during Tuesday’s workshop. This board has tried to be as transparent as possible when it comes to planning for our district. Parents and community members always are given an opportunity at each meeting to ask questions and/or to voice concerns at our meetings. Our athletic coordinator has also posted a survey to collect comments from all parents regarding fall sports.”

Organizer and parent Stacey Connell explained the goal of the peaceful protest was to promote positivity among the sporting/club communities and create an environment where everyone could work together to build positive change.

In response to the threat of COVID-19 during the football season, Stacey Connell said, “If you don’t want to come out, you don’t have to, but we are asking for the chance. Just like anything, if you don’t feel comfortable going to the grocery store you can have your groceries delivered. You want to have that right and that choice. So if we can have the opportunity to enjoy football we are willing to take the risk.”

She explained the reasoning for the peaceful protest.

“We want to bring support to our school board and to our superintendent so that they know we support them, we want to support them, we want them to support us, and vote in favor to resume fall sports and activities.”

The Palmerton school board is set to host a meeting via Zoom at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday where they will further discuss the current situation of fall sports. The Zoom link can be found under the News & Announcements section of the Palmerton district website. Concerned parents and students are encouraged to attend.