SPORTS — The Heat, Suns, Maverick, Sparks and other youth basketball teams may not get to play their 2020-21 season. League officials announced Monday night that Lynchburg Jr. Pro’s basketball season would be “postponed” effective immediately and until further notice.

“We aren’t cancelling yet but will re-evaluate in January,” the group said on their public Facebook page.

When contacted for comment, league officials told The Lynchburg Times that they were approached by school administrators on Sunday night and asked to postpone the season due to rising COVID case numbers in Moore County.

During the November Metro School Board meeting, the Board unanimously voted to allow Lynchburg Jr. Pro to move forward with their season but gave Metro Director of Schools Chad Moorehead wide latitude to cancel it based solely at his discretion.

Since that November 9 meeting, COVID cases have spiked across Moore County by nearly 30 percent. The Tennessee Department of Health reported Moore County gained 135 cases from November 9 (the date of the Metro School Board meeting) and December 7 ( the date the Lynchburg Jr. Pro season was postponed).

“We are experiencing a higher rate of COVID-19 exposures and positive tests within the school system,” said Director Moorehead. “Many of our teachers and students have been quarantined or isolated in the past week.  Our goal is to keep our school buildings open for in-person learning and in order to do so, we have to minimize our opportunities for exposure to the virus.”

Director Moorehead explained that for each person that enters a local school building with the virus, the system must send multiple people home for at least 10 day.

“We only have so many substitutes.  When we have more adults absent than substitutes available, the schools shift to remote learning,” Director Moorehead said.

League officials say they will re-evaluate in January. For more information, visit the Lynchburg Jr. Pro Basketball page by clicking here. •

{The Lynchburg Times is the only independently owned and operated newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee. We cover Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}