Updated at 9 p.m.
The governing body for Vermont school sports plans to bar reporters, photographers and fans from a soccer game between Enosburg Falls High School and Winooski High School Tuesday afternoon — an unusual decision it said would help keep both teams’ players safe.
Only players, coaches, officials and school administrators will be allowed at the state semifinal match, the Vermont Principals’ Association said in a statement Monday.
“We’re looking at this as the best way to move forward and ensure the physical and emotional safety of all the kids involved,” Jay Nichols, the association’s executive director, said in an interview. “A lot of people are forgetting the fact this is supposed to be about the kids.”
The two teams have not played each other since Sept. 18 when, according to a statement from the Winooski school superintendent, Enosburg Falls High players and fans hurled racist language at Winooski High players of color.
An Oct. 18 regular-season game between the two teams was canceled. But since both made the state playoffs, they must now face each other again.
Last month, an internal investigation by Enosburg Falls High officials found no evidence that racist language was used during the Sept. 18 game. But officials considered their investigation to be incomplete because they could not interview Winooski’s players.
Nichols said Monday the decision to bar reporters and fans from Tuesday’s match came after discussions with officials, though not students, from both school districts.
“Winooski has the right to restrict who comes to their event by law,” he said. “So they’ve chosen to enact that, with full support from us.”
In a statement, Winooski School District Superintendent Sean McMannon said he was “in full support and agreement with the VPA’s decision to ensure the physical and emotional safety of all student-athletes involved by closing the match to the public.”
Nichols said that, to his knowledge, this would be the first time spectators and media were barred from a school sports game in Vermont, excluding Covid-19 restrictions.
In an email to Nichols, VTDigger Deputy Managing Editor Maggie Cassidy said the news organization “strongly objects” to the association’s plan to ban media from the match, stating reporters and photographers need access to games to observe action both on and off the field.
“If anything, I would argue that both of those missions are made more important when general spectators aren’t allowed at a game, not less, and are more important for games like this one, where the VPA has become deeply involved in a contentious issue between the two teams,” Cassidy said.
“If asked, I would agree to not interview players,” Burlington Free Press sports reporter Alex Abrami tweeted Monday, reacting to the association’s decision. “Media members, as partial observers, should be allowed to attend and report.”
The game will be held at Burlington High School Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., the Winooski School District said on Twitter. A livestream will also be available online.
