Ballston Spa, N.Y., mayor Frank Rossi is asking school and athletic association officials to reschedule the Sept. 11 game between Ballston Spa High School and Queensbury High School out of respect for the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Although Ballston Spa and lower Manhattan are nearly 200 miles apart, Rossi said the two cities will be forever connected, as reported by CBS affiliate WRGB in Albany.
“We had firefighters actually go down to do and help out with search efforts after the buildings went down,” Rossi said.
Ballston Spa has commemorations scheduled for 7 p.m. that night — the same time the high school game will kick off. Rossi wants the game moved so folks don’t have to choose which event to attend.
“It may seem like the same thing every year, but it's really still important,” he said. “You hear and learn something different every year about the situation.”
Rossi sent a letter to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association asking to move the game to Thursday or Saturday. The association told him that the decision to play on Sept. 11 was finalized back in February, and that Ballston Spa school officials plan to memorialize 9/11 before and during the game. The organization says the two schools plan to discuss the issue again this week and could make adjustments.
But Dr. Gianleo Duca, superintendent of Ballston Spa schools, said the game will be played as scheduled, WRGB's Tom Bosco reported.
“The District has scheduled various events and remembrances throughout the day,” Duca said. “Like many other schools in Section 2, we plan to proceed with the game versus Queensbury as scheduled.”
Rossi still wishes people weren't forced to make a choice.
“Obviously, I understand that families are gonna go support their children, and I'm all about that,” he said. “It's not about that, it's about the adults in the room that have the input and the ability to make the changes here.”
