Rahm Emanuel, former chief of staff to President Obama, is the latest high-profile person to have been reported to say, “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.”

Worldwide, and for centuries, many political leaders have taken advantage of others’ misfortunes to consolidate their gains.  The same occurs on smaller stages in public and private enterprises of all kinds.

And so it is, at least in part, that almost daily the MHSAA is receiving ideas to address the latest “epidemics” in school sports safety.

But while we do have our eyes open to potential partnerships and naked philanthropy, we also have our guard up to protect nearly bankrupt school districts from unfunded mandates that are beyond their means, especially in these times when so much funding is being detoured from K-12 education to other emergencies.

Most encouraging has been the number of our state’s fine medical centers that have stepped forward this spring to offer their expertise at free or reduced costs – everything from training adults in CPR and AEDs to providing cardiac screening for student-athletes, including . . .

• Beaumont Hospital (Detroit)
• Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital (Grand Rapids)
• Ingham Regional Medical Center (Lansing)

and other organizations which have provided informational services or forums, including . . .

• Michigan Cardiovascular Institute Foundation (Saginaw)
• Mott Children’s Hospital (Ann Arbor)
• West Michigan Heart (Grand Rapids)

There will be more – many more are needed – and school sports will be stronger and safer as a result.