La Cueva teacher worries student-athletes’ academics will suffer with no sports

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. A teacher at La Cueva High School fears the schoolwork of student-athletes will stuffer if they can’t participate in sports.

“These kids have been working for a long time. They’ve done everything we’ve asked of them," Lena Eddings said. "To take away any choice of them having a piece of their season or for some of these kids it’s going to be the second season in a row, half of their high school careers, is just a great way to disincentive them.”

Some parents have opted to send their kids to schools in different states, so they can participate in sports.

Eddings believes the lack of sports will also widen the gap of inequality in New Mexico.

“They have nothing yet, there’s children all around our states surrounding us, in some places now in the state, we’re not giving these kids the same opportunity and there’s something that just feels super inequitable about that,” she said.