(WXYZ) — Governor Gretchen Whitmer surprised hundreds of thousands of high school athletes, their parents, coaches, and supporters when she set the date to resume winter sports to February 21.
The campaign is on from Detroit to the UP urging her not to sideline the games until then. The governor is allowing bars and restaurants to reopen with reduced capacity on February 1.
Oxford Athletic Director Jordan Ackerman is among those who have written letters and he tells 7 Action News, “I don’t see how we can run winter sports if we are pushed off to the 21st.”
Ackerman says that’s too close to the start of spring sports and many athletes like to play both. He says some students and parents are driving to Indiana to play. 38 states allow high school sports to continue.
Ackerman says schools are following safety protocols and the proof is when testing was done.
“We tested 30,000 student-athletes in the fall leading up to the finals. And the tests for negativity was 98.8%,” Ackerman said.
The group is talking about a lawsuit and has a rally set for this Saturday at noon at the state capitol in Lansing. Two other rallies were held in December and back in August urging high school sports to go on.