LANSING, Michigan — An athletic advocacy group, a hockey league and parents of athletes have sued Michigan’s health director, seeking the reversal of a two and a half month state ban on contact sports that was issued to curb the coronavirus.
Let Them Play Michigan, a group of student-athletes, parents, coaches and school administrators, is among plaintiffs that sued in the Court of Claims Tuesday.
"We felt it was time to make sure that everyone had the same sense of urgency that our student athletes, parents, coaches, and school administrators have," said Let Them Play attorney Peter B. Ruddell of Lansing-based Honigmann LLP.
The complaint contends that the order, which was recently extended through Feb. 21, arbitrarily and irrationally singles out and deprives athletes of their constitutional rights and freedoms.
Attorney Ruddell says more than 100 Michigan school district administrators have sent letters to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) asking for winter contact sports to resume.
Ruddell said Tuesday during a press conference on Zoom the Michigan High School Athletic Association is not part of the suit.
It alleges the ban violates the Civil Rights Act and is discriminatory based on age because college and professional athletes in Michigan are allowed to compete.
Ruddell says not having winter contact sports is hurting student athletes' mental and physical health.
"Three or four students can go to the mall today and they can hang out indoors for hours, they can shop and eat but they can't play sports in their high school," said Ruddell. "We have high school physical education going on, we've got an hour-long basketball game going on probably right now in a P.E. class somewhere in this state but yet the student athletes at 3-o'clock can't play basketball. I don't understand the data or the science behind that."
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said she's optimistic that the state can move toward reengagement in sports.
*AP contributed to this story.
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