'Let Us Play': Hundreds Rally at Michigan Capitol for Return of High School Sports

Demonstrators gathered at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing on Saturday, January 30, to call for the return of high school sports.

The “Let Them Play” rally challenged Gov Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’s decision to extend restrictions on high school sports until February 21, organizers wrote in their Facebook group, which has more than 36,000 members.

One of the organizers, Jayme McElvany, addressed the Senate Education and Career Readiness Committee and the House Oversight Committee in Lansing on Thursday.

McElvany also set up a GoFundMe account which raised more than $57,000 toward legal fees for his non-profit organization called Let Them Play Michigan, Inc.

The group retained the services of Lansing lawyer Peter Ruddell, who told MLive that the group’s complaint was “complete and can be filed immediately.”

As of January 30, Michigan had reported 608,627 total confirmed cases of the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, and 15,410 deaths. Credit: Brendan Gutenschwager via Storyful