Last week, it was reported that many of the schools scheduled to play Francis Marion and R.C. Hatch in basketball over the next few weeks have cancelled, due to the ongoing tuberculosis outbreak in Perry County.

Two of our local schools, Keith and Selma, were among those that cancelled games, with administrators of both schools calling the moves precautionary and in the best interest of their students.

Parents understandably were concerned about whether or not their child would be exposed to TB if they made the trip to Marion.

The numbers coming out of Marion are obviously alarming.

A total of 49 people have tested positive to carrying the TB infection and there are nine active cases, as of Friday.

No cases have been reported in Uniontown, where R.C. Hatch High School is located.

While the numbers are eye opening, the information isn’t as scary if you listen to the experts.

Pam Barrett, director of the division of TB control in the state of Alabama, said that no basketball games should be cancelled because a gymnasium isn’t an optimal place to catch TB. She said TB is spread through repeated exposure in an enclosed space.

We’re obviously not experts, so we’re going to side with the real expert here.

If Barrett and other doctors say it’s OK for basketball games to be played, we’re confident it is. We’re not here to tell anyone how to raise their children, but we feel the cancellations only add to the paranoia around the outbreak.

Imagine how the children at Francis Marion and R.C. Hatch are handling this. We’re guessing they probably feel like outsiders, although there’s nothing wrong with them.

One opponent last week entered the gymnasium wearing surgical masks, according to Perry County Schools Superintendent John Heard.

Imagine how students in Selma would feel if the roles were reversed.

Those who cancelled acted in a way they believed was the best interest of their students when they made the decision, and we understand that. As an administrator, sometimes you make difficult decisions. At the end of the day, we think everyone should step back, learn about TB before making any decisions, especially those that may make other children feel ostracized.