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Tuesday April 30, 2024
LET US PLAY! Thousands Plead For End To 'Pause'

Photos, video courtesy of Randy McLeod, Crystal Hughes, BRH Wrestlng, Tracy Hudson, Elissa Labayk from Houghton, Let Us Play Facebook

LANSING---A rally designed to convince Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to allow indoor contact sports to immediately begin was held in Lansing on Saturday, and the response was dramatic as several thousand people showed up. And there were U.P. kids, coaches, and parents on hand.

Meanwhile, hockey teams organized smaller "Sticks Across Michigan" protests in Escanaba, Marquette, and Houghton.

The main rally in Lansing was a repeat of two earlier rallies held by the group "Let Us Play", started by a southern Michigan parent in an effort to save the high school football season.

This rally was for hockey, basketball, wrestling, and competitive cheer, all of which were put on hold by Whitmer's Department of Health and Human Services in mid-November. The three-week "pause" was extended several times, with the most recent extension, lasting through Feb. 21.

Whitmer said the latest three-week extension was due to a coronavirus "variant" strain that was found in southeastern Michigan that could be more contagious than the first one.

But many of the speakers om the Capitol grounds Saturday aren't buying it, claiming that high school sports are not "super spreader" events, and have been proven safe in other states that have been playing their seasons since November.

This rally was much larger than the previous ones, which drew several hundred particpiants.

This one had more than ten times the participants, with most being students from all across the state, including the U.P. Among those on hand: North Central Jets athletes, who have been at all three rallies, Bark River-Harris/NCA wrestlers, Escanaba's varsity basketball coach, and a group of athletes from the Copper Country who drove down on Friday evening to be there.

Several state lawmakers spoke at the event, as did former Detroit Red Wings star Darren McCarty. There was also a show of support from Detroit's Public Schools' Superintendent, and a much larger group of coaches than at the previous two rallies combined.

They all argued that sports need to be played to bolster teenagers' mental health, and to prevent depression and other destructive behavior, includng suicide. 

Organizers planned the event on short notice, and it took place two days after Michigan House and Senate committees took testimony on the issue. At Saturday's event, masks were required, even though it was held outside. That request was made to show respect to Whitmer and MDHHS, as both believe that wearing masks will help to stop the virus.

An hour before the rally began downstate, the entire Escanaba High School Hockey team braved cold, windy, comditions to stand along M-35 in front of the school to plead for the start of their season, which the MHSAA sill technically has starting on Tuesday.

All of the players stood, atleast six feet apart, in full uniform, with coaches and parents also attending. Marquette High School hockey players also protested, walking through the downtown area, holding signs alongside Marquette Junior Hockey Association players.

In the Copper Country, Houghton High School hockey players stood on the US-41/Portage Lift Bridge that connects Houghton and Hancock, holding "Let Us Play" signs.








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