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Michigan officials considering resuming high school winter sports sooner than planned

High school sports put on pause in Michigan due to coronavirus surge

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan High School Athletic Association is pushing for high school sports to resume before the current Feb. 21 deadline.

A lawsuit was expected to be filed with the goal of getting the state to allow winter sports before the deadline, but the lawsuit was put on hold Friday so the state and Let Them Play Inc. can talk about a new earlier deadline.

“We are hoping to have a resolution without having to go to court,” said Jayme McElvany, with Let Them Play Inc.

There was a legislative hearing Thursday that resulted in an unanimous senate resolution that said high school sports should start earlier.

“I’m going to say I am encouraged by the communication we’re getting from them and they hopefully seem to be responding,” McElvany said.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association’s executive director, Mark Uyl, held a press conference Friday where he said their data suggests high school sports are good and not a problem. He noted that 99.8% of COVID tests in the fall came back negative.

“School age sports has not been the super spreader events,” Uyl said. “It certainly wasn’t our experience in the fall.”

Let Them Play Inc. said if they don’t hear something by Monday, they will file the lawsuit immediately.

More: Michigan parents set to file lawsuit demanding restart of high school sports

Let Them Play, Inc. is currently withholding the lawsuit as the talks are ongoing, and they said they could file the lawsuit if they don’t get anywhere.

Mark Uyl, with MSHAA, said their data suggests high school sports are good and not a problem. He noted that 99.8% of COVID tests in the fall came back negative.

More: Detroit schools superintendent urges Whitmer to resume high school contact sports


About the Authors
Dane Kelly headshot

Dane is a producer and media enthusiast. He previously worked freelance video production and writing jobs in Michigan, Georgia and Massachusetts. Dane graduated from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.

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