School's out, but the MIAA is still out in left field.

The second important topic of the day:

On Tuesday, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker ordered what most of us expected to happen for some time -- that the public and private school systems of the state would be closed for the remainder of the school year because of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. To that end, the governor's order also puts an end to the question of whether high school sports would be able to resume in this state.

As school buildings will remain closed, and with the expectation that social-distancing restriction will be in effect for several more weeks, it will be impossible for the member schools of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association to follow through with a plan to reboot the spring sports season starting on May 4.

At least that's what common sense suggests. The MIAA, for its own part, was not ready to confirm this even after Gov. Baker's announcement. This was tweeted out by the association earlier Tuesday:

What I can't understand is why the MIAA, which devoted so much of its time to preparing for a spring season that was always likely to be canceled, could not have concurrently prepared a statement confirming and supporting the action of Gov. Baker from the very moment he announced it. It is important that the MIAA, although not a state agency, show support for the decision that was made with the best interests of all Massachusetts citizens at heart.

Throughout these past few weeks, I have been critical of the MIAA for openly planning a resumption to the sports season under the premise that it was "important" to give the student-athletes hope that they would not lose the season to the coronavirus. I didn't think it was wrong for the MIAA to plan for the best-case scenario, but I felt it was extremely important for the association to also plan for the worst-case scenario -- and not to be dishonest with the athletes in the process.

I believed then, and I believe now, that it's important to be honest to the young athletes of the state. This is an unprecedented circumstance they are facing, unlike anything that has been faced by multiple generations prior to theirs. Not since before interscholastic athletics existed in their present form, in fact, has there been a national pandemic that so deeply threatened the lives of Americans of all ages. And yet it's still difficult to convince the populace to stay home, to avoid personal contact and to avoid activities that could result of rapid transmission of the coronavirus.

And all this is happening just as Massachusetts has become a hotspot for COVID-19 infection. Things aren't winding down here yet, and MIAA officials should have been aware of this and been prepared to announce the end of their push to get athletes back on the fields at the very moment that the closure of schools became official. But no, we still have to wait for the Board of Directors to come up with a statement later in the week -- and all the while, some individuals remain erroneously hopeful that somehow, loopholes will be found in the school closures and the games will go on.

Maybe it's time to consider that there are more important things to worry about than a lost lacrosse or baseball season. I'd rather see kids sadly staying home in self-quarantine than happily playing and then coming home with 103-degree fevers and life-threatening pneumonia. But for expressing this, I have become a "bad guy" again. Here are some examples of the responses I've gotten:

" ...heaven forbid we give the kids something to hope for, work towards, and look forward to! As coaches, that’s the nature of our work...and near as I can tell, the MIAA didn’t let anyone play in an unsafe environment. No one has touched a field - we just hoped for the best."

"Listen Mark just stop. these seniors are having enough time with this .the Miaa was trying the best they could my daughter is a high school senior who just has been stripped of everything they have worked for 12 years they don’t need to see your negativity I suggest you step off."

And the best one so far: "Wow you really are an ass..I hope karma gets u someday."

I have a better suggestion. Let's be honest with the kids. They were dealt a bad hand, that's certainly true. But maybe because of this, they will be better prepared to deal with crises later in their lives if a similar circumstance happens in the future. This may actually be the best lesson they will ever learn in their lives, given the volatility of the times in which they live.

Sports are great. I spent my entire life devoted to them, from the first day I put on a uniform as a member of a junior varsity baseball team, through more than 50 years as a professional sports journalist, and through my current part-time profession as a local sports broadcaster. But it's not the most important thing in the world -- as this ongoing crisis drives home every day.