“Let Them Play” Fights State Testing Order For Student Athletes
The attorney representing parents of student-athletes in Michigan is now waiting for a response from a lawsuit filed against the state. The group "Let Them Play" is going after the Health and Human Services Department, and by proxy, Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The suit is an attempt to push the state into verifying it has the legal authority to order testing of student-athletes. The group does not believe that authority exists.
The Let Them Play Facebook page is displaying lots of posts about complaining about and challenging the requirement. The official date for the start of the state-required testing was Friday. But even with most schools now on spring break, the requirement remains in effect.
MLive reports the focus of the lawsuit is to force the state to prove it has the legal authority to order the testing.
The attorney representing the group tells MLive that a letter was sent to the
Health and Human Services Department last month seeking to clear up the issue. But the response from new Department Director Elizabeth Hertel skirted the requested information. Instead, the director told the attorney the state expected compliance with the order but provides no information on the legal authority.
The Group Let Them Play has been in the forefront of the issues surrounding state requirements of student-athletes based on COVID-19 orders.
The new lawsuit says, “For more than a year, student-athletes have endured unilateral orders enacted by Executive Branch officials that severely restrict their ability to freely associate with one another and compete in high school sports.”
KEEP READING: See how sports around the world have been impacted by the coronavirus
More From WBCKFM
