Sports during the pandemic has largely been discussed in binary terms — “Let them play” vs. “Sports are too unsafe.” Both arguments are overly simplistic, especially when it comes to high school basketball on Montana Indian reservations.

Basketball is akin to religion for Native Americans, and canceling this season is out of the question for many of them. That doesn’t mean they’re deprioritizing COVID-19. In fact, some Native schools have canceled basketball for safety reasons, and people involved with Native basketball programs that are playing feel conflicted because they know firsthand how destructive COVID has been to their communities.

I wrote about this ambivalence last month.

Basketball is ‘oxygen’ for Montana Native Americans. COVID-19 has filled this season with challenges.