By Jon King / jking@whmi.com

Several hundred high school athletes, their parents and other supporters rallied outside Michigan’s Capitol in Lansing Saturday in support of the reopening of sports programs shut down by COVID-19 restrictions.

Among those addressing the crowd was State Senator Lana Theis. The Brighton Township Republican posted afterward on Facebook that she had the, “honor to join the thousands of parents, athletes, and supporters in Lansing at the #LetThemPlay rally. These kids deserve better than what our Governor is doing to them and we won't stop fighting for them!”

The demonstration was held as the state reported 1,358 newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 104 deaths.

Orders released earlier this month by Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services ban contact winter sports like basketball, wrestling, hockey and competitive cheerleading.

The first bill of the current legislative session was introduced by Senator Theis which seeks to curb public health orders to 28 days, which would effectively end the ability of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration to issue shutdown orders to curb the spread of the coronavirus. A similar bill introduced by Theis was vetoed by Whitmer late last year.

Various coaching associations have written letters to Gov. Whitmer and other state officials urging that their sports be allowed to continue, according to the Lansing State Journal.

Whitmer’s administration extended the ban on youth contact sports through Feb. 21, three months after it began.

Non-contact winter sports like bowling, boys swimming and gymnastics are allowed to begin their seasons.

Ethan Dunn wants to get back on the basketball court for East Lansing High School.

“It’s very painful for myself and everyone else I’m sure — especially the seniors — to have their season taken away like this and not have the opportunity,” Dunn told the Lansing State Journal Saturday. “Some use it as a coping mechanism, others want to play at the collegiate level and others might not get a chance again to play this sport.”

As of Saturday, Michigan has recorded 559,241 confirmed virus cases. More than 14,600 people have died from the disease. Of the 104 deaths reported Saturday, 93 were identified during a review of vital records.

Senator Theis earlier this week said the science does not back up Whitmer’s actions and that is resulting in the theft of thousands of student-athletes’ opportunity to compete.

However, that point of view is not shared by state health officials. 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.” It was also noted that the concern is even greater with recent confirmation of the more-transmissible COVID-19 variant in Michigan.

In addition, a recent case study (link below) by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention looked at a pair of wrestling meets in Florida that resulted in 79 known coronavirus infections and one death.

Meanwhile, the founder of the “Let Them Play” movement, Monroe business owner Jayme McElvany, has drawn scrutiny. The Michigan Advance reports that her social media has, “pushed COVID skepticism, debunked election fraud conspiracies and QAnon rhetoric.” The outlet also reports that a Facebook group she created called “Jayme’s Wake Up Call,” was deleted after she was contacted concerning its contents. However, screenshots of posts show her, “including misinformation about how many people die,” and stating that she will “give you the most up to date info I have about the election fraud, the virus, Biblical truths, the cabal, the political corruption, world corruption, end times, child sex trafficking, NWO [New World Order]… all the important stuff!”

That same Facebook page hosted a post the morning of the Jan. 6th insurrection, in which McElvany posted: “Guys … it’s gonna be the most shocking day in American history today. Invite people to the group. Everyone needs to be ready for what’s about to be revealed. I will update you as soon as it happens. Many traitors on both sides. Please pray that all evil gets revealed. Pray pray pray.”

McElvany was also invited by the GOP-led House Oversight Committee to testify Thursday, where she spoke maskless about her concerns over the mental health of student athletes and questioned the science behind the COVID-19 data being used by the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services.

Top photo: Lana Theis’ Facebook page
Bottom photo: Courtesy of the Michigan Advance