It Didn't Have To Be This Way.

Written Tuesday February 2nd at 9:30 AM

It didn’t have to be this way.

This isn’t about politics.

It’s to let them play.

“The Let Them Play” movement rallied on Saturday just to have their Winter Sports back. There were legendary players like Andre Rison and Darren McCarty spoke in support of the student-athletes just to let them play. Also college basketball coaches in Greg Kampe, Tom Izzo, Juwan Howard, among others support the student-athletes to just let them play.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services have refused to hear their pleas.

They had no choice and now sadly it’s going to be played out in a courtroom.

It didn’t have to be.

“The Let Them Play” movement filed a complaint against new MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel in her official capacity just to let student-athletes from cheerleading, basketball, wrestling, and hockey to play and start their seasons. This was confirmed by FOX 17's Zach Herig.

This has garnered national attention. This is the third time that “The Let Them Play” movement protested at the State Capitol in Lansing during the 2020-2021 school year.

Whitmer and then MDHHS Director Robert Gordon extended “the pause” on January 22nd to include these five sports which is set to expire on February 21^st. Gordon stepped down on that same day and Hertel took over as MDHHS Director.

So why aren’t these four contact sports haven’t started their seasons despite most of the United States whom have more coronavirus cases than Michigan are playing???

The data from the MDHHS when they did their antigen test program for football, volleyball, and girls swimming and diving showed a 99.8 and a 99.6 percent negative test rate.

This comes down to trust.

Does Whitmer and the MDHHS trust schools especially athletic directors, superintendents, support staff, and coaches to do the right thing???

This is clearly a lose-lose for Whitmer and the MDHHS.

Here is another question, is this really about public health??? Restaurants, casinos, bars, and in person learning in schools are open despite strict restrictions but they can’t play a basketball game, cheer, wrestle, or play hockey???

Something is not right.

The mental health has been and always will be beyond paramount. Depression and suicides have been rising since “the pause” went into effect. There have been two student-athletes in the state that have taken their lives including a hockey player in Muskegon because of the coronavirus restrictions.

Whitmer mentioned in an email that it’s because of the close contact that makes these four contact sports more risky and the arrival of the new B.1.1.1.7 variant coronavirus strain. I was very thankful that Whitmer wrote back but I had more questions than answers.

Football and volleyball were done safely and with spring sports on the horizon it will be easier to socially distance and competitions are outdoors with the exception of water polo which is in a pool.

This is the most important time of a young man and woman’s life especially if they are a senior. To play a sport they love with their friends and family. The bonds that are grown with teammates and coaches those will forever be cherished.

Teams are like a family. They are basically a family.

If there isn’t a season especially for the seniors they won’t be able to get it back.

These student-athletes are going to be your future voters. The future of the state. They are certainly going to remember all of this. 

It has become clear that these student-athletes have lost faith in their state government.

It didn’t need to happen.

It didn’t have to happen this way.

I don't know what will happen next but it's the eye of the storm.