Parents of Springdale basketball players protest playoff cancellation

A group of about a dozen parents, players and their head coach showed up in the lobby of the Allegheny Valley School District offices in Harmar on Tuesday morning to protest its decision to forfeit Springdale High School’s WPIAL first-round boys basketball playoff game.

The decision was made after four players tested positive for covid last week. District administrators, including Superintendent Patrick Graczyk, decided it would be best for the fourth-seeded Dynamos to end their season rather than play Wednesday’s Class 2A first-round playoff game against No. 13 Winchester Thurston.

The outcome left coach Aaron Epps, the players and their parents frustrated and determined not to let the season end without a fight.

They insisted the Dynamos had enough healthy players to go ahead with the game.

After about half the group left, a handful of parents and students remained and caused “a commotion,” according to Harmar police who were called to the scene and asked the group to leave.

They did so peacefully but came away disappointed, feeling the season could not have ended in a worse way for the team.

“What really is sad is we had to fight to be able to play this season. We had to (have the players) wear masks,” said Tim Dexter, father of junior guard Logan Dexter. “It’s fine they want to be cautious. I understand that. But we’ve taken so much away from these kids with this pandemic. It’s just heartbreaking to the boys and to the parents.”

What made Dexter even more angry, he said, is that the Springdale girls team was allowed to play its opening round playoff game, a loss to Aliquippa last Saturday, even though two of its players were unable to participate due to covid protocols.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the Allegheny Valley School District said the decision to cancel the boys playoff game was not an easy one and it understands the disappointment.

“Working alongside the Allegheny County Health Department, the District administrators weighed the known information and made a decision,” the statement read. “Unpopular though it may be, the District will always make safety its priority and will err on the side of caution when decisions affecting the health and welfare of staff and students need to be reached.”

Logan Dexter said he learned about the cancellation of Springdale’s playoff appearance from his coach.

“I think we’re all just kind of shocked about it,” Dexter said.

Senior Demitri Fritch, one of the WPIAL’s leading scorers at 22.9 points per game, said he’s hoping to play college basketball, but is worried now that scouts won’t have an opportunity to see him play.

“It’s really hard now without playoffs because that’s when (college) coaches really come to see players,” Fritch said. “It’s horrible. A lot of people did their best to put a season together for us and (the school district) just cut it off for nothing. There is a way we could have played.”

Fritch’s mother, Crystal Colon, said she was “disgusted” with the situation.

“It affects the seniors the most. My son’s whole future is ruined from this year,” Colon said. “A lot of it couldn’t be helped because of covid, but they could play this game tomorrow. If it’s a liability issue, the parents would all sign waivers.”

Epps said until the past week, the Dynamos did not have any covid cases this year.

“We followed protocol. It wasn’t until the end of the year we had some covid issues. But the way it was spaced out, we had enough kids to play (tomorrow’s) game,” Epps said. “It only takes five players to play basketball. Give me (Fritch and Dexter) and I’ll take my chances with five guys for a first-round playoff game. We should have had an opportunity to play that game.”

Standing in the lobby of the district offices, Melissa Mitchell, mother of sophomore player Christopher Mitchell, was hoping to speak with Graczyk, the superintendent. She said she was disappointed that the boys did not receive a direct explanation from someone in the district.

“What I’m upset about is nobody in the school district went to our players, who have sacrificed all season, looked them in the eyes and gave them an explanation,” Mitchell said. “They had to find this out from a letter that came out on social media.

”Nobody had the courage to look these players in the eyes, and that’s sad.”