high school sports

High temperatures are pushing Kansas City area schools to delay football games and cancel sports practices in order to keep kids safe on the field. But "it’s an easy decision" to make, one local athletic director said.

Kansas was one of the first Midwestern states to sanction girls’ flag football as a varsity high school sport. Now, girls across the state have their first chance to compete under the lights.

Running back MicahJo Barnett had trouble breathing after scoring a touchdown during Saturday's game, when it was 97 degrees in Liberty, Missouri. He died a short time later at the hospital.

Rylan Reece, 16, died on the first day of practice at tiny Pawnee Heights High School. He was the fifth Kansas football player to die during conditioning since 2018.

Since 2018, four college and one high school linemen have died in Kansas from heat-related illnesses. So far this summer, high school linemen in Arkansas and Louisiana have been severely sickened by exertional heat stroke.

John Dale, the longtime public address announcer for Sporting Kansas City, the Kansas City Mavericks and countless local sporting events, is now bringing his voice to World Cup matches at the stadium in Monterrey, Mexico.

Gov. Mike Kehoe named the legislation a priority after the Missouri State High School Activities Association came under scrutiny for considering diversity in its hiring practices.

Girls flag football is labeled as an emerging sport in Missouri high schools. By the 2027-28 school year, the sport could be fully accredited.

U.S. attorneys cite key civil rights cases in an effort to overturn the Missouri State High School Activities Association’s policy reserving spots on its board of directors for under-represented candidates, calling it “systematic unconstitutional race and sex-based discrimination.”

Missouri currently bans trans athletes through the collegiate level from playing on teams that align with their gender identity, but the law expires in 2027. Republicans want to make it permanent, but Democrats argue it could invite scrutiny of young girls' bodies.

Many Kansas students are getting excited about girls’ flag football, which was launched in the state with help and funding from the Kansas City Chiefs. Learn about the sport and its rising popularity.

Missouri law previously allowed school districts to choose if they wanted to allow homeschooled students to participate in school teams or other activities. Under a new law signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe, districts must allow athletes to try out without taking classes.