By Jon King / jking@whmi.com


Livingston County parents and players are among those signing a statewide petition requesting that the state health department lift the current pause on contact sports including basketball, hockey, wrestling and competitive cheer.

On Friday, the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services issued an updated order preventing winter contact sports from resuming until February 21st at the earliest. Coaches and players had been planning for a return on February 1st. A petition at Change.org seeks the return of high school sports and has garnered nearly 17,000 signatures so far.

Using the hashtags #Letusplay and #Bringbackwintersports, the petition says that most high schoolers, “depend on these winter sports not only for exercise and wellness, but also for social interaction” and that for some, “this season is their last opportunity to play the sport they love.” It notes that the latest state health orders will allow restaurants to allow in-person dining, “along with concessions being able to resume at casinos, movie theaters, and even stadiums” and that, “These activities are far more dangerous than contact sports because they cannot be done while wearing a mask” which the petition notes can be done with winter sports, which it says makes them “far less dangerous.” The petition then asks Governor Whitmer, “…we know you have a daughter who plays hockey. Ask her how she would feel.”

However, state health officials note that 42 COVID-19 outbreaks in Michigan were linked to some type of sporting activity in August and September before contact sport restrictions were implemented. They also note that the concern is even greater with recent confirmation of the more-transmissible COVID-19 variant in Michigan, which has resulted in the University of Michigan pausing all of its athletic activities for up to two weeks.

Meanwhile on Monday, a law and lobbying firm representing a group of student-athletes, parents, coaches and school administrators wrote to Hertel urging her to issue an order letting contact sports begin no later than Feb. 21. The letter says 99.8% of tests given to athletes, coaches and staff recently were negative.

The testing of about 5,300 people was conducted in a pilot program to finish the state football, volleyball, and girls swimming and diving tournaments. Forty-seven states have given a start date for competition for all sports, according to the letter.

The group said the lack of team sports hurts students’ education, adding that athletes are no longer being recruited by colleges and those with means can travel to neighboring states to compete.

Separately, Detroit school district superintendent Nikolai Vitti wrote a letter encouraging Whitmer to allow winter contact sports and to give clarity about why the season has been suspended and what needs to happen for it to start. About 60,000 athletes are involved in winter contact sports, according to the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

“As I believe you know, the opposition, despair, and anger to the continuing suspension of winter ‘contact’ sports is rapidly growing in the city and across the state,” Vitti wrote. “Please do not let this frustration reach the level of a lawsuit against you and state.”

Lynn Sutfin, spokeswoman for the state health department, said sports that require closeness between players make it more difficult to prevent disease transmission even with masks and other mitigation measures in place.

“These risks are even greater for indoor contact sports where there is not natural ventilation to mitigate the close proximity of participants,” she said, adding that teams may be able to decrease risk with robust public health measures “but risk remains elevated.”