LANSING, Mich. (Great Lakes News) –  Student athletes, their parents, and concerned community members plan to file a lawsuit against Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel today.

The message? “Let them play.”

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The Whitmer administration has pushed back winter youth sports until February 21st. Jayme McElvaney with “Let Them Play Michigan” said student athletes in the state deserve better.

“The messages that I’m getting from these kids [is that] they are at their breaking point,” McElvaney told Great Lakes News. “They can’t have this emotional roller coaster of ‘yes you can play, no you can’t, yes you can, no you can’t.'”

McElvaney also added that the state health department has been testing student athletes and have found the virus rarely, if ever, impacts young students. “The science proves a 99.8% negative testing rate [among student athletes] from the Michigan health department’s own data. What else can these kids do?”

Michigan’s order pushes contact sports like basketball, wrestling, and competitive cheer back to a February 21st start date for games and practices.

“It’s disgusting,” added McElvaney, referring the state mandates that she says continues to devastate children and teenagers’ mental health.

Gov. Whitmer said a new coronavirus strain that’s popped up primarily in Washtenaw County is impacting the start of youth winter contact sports.

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A “Let Them Play Michigan” rally is planned for Saturday at the capitol at noon.