The thing is, the athletes generally WANT to take PE. The kids who want to get out of it are the "band" kids. Not even joking.
I know kids want to take PE. They would also like to take Gaming 101 and 4 hours of study hall.
But, adults need to make decisions in their best interests.
If a kid is already hitting the weight room in the morning, and practicing football for several hours after school...then they have no need for PE during school hours.