LANSING, MICH. — Friday, August 28th would have been the first football game for many players and their families.
The decision to postpone football to the spring due to COVID is not sitting well with some moms who have now started a Facebook page to get people to rally with them in Lansing.
Jayme McElvany started the 'Let Michigan High School Football Play' Facebook group which has already gained about 17,000 members in just one week.
The organizers say more than 1,000 people say they were interested in attending the event on Facebook.
The group is inviting parents of kids who play sports or are part of the band or cheerleaders to rally with them at the state capitol Friday, August 28th from 4-7 p-m.
Jayme is a business owner in Monroe whose son is a junior and plays on the football team at Milan High School.
Tracy Barker also started a Facebook group called 'Our Children, Our Choice'.
She is a stay at home mom of three, including a freshmen on the football team and a 7th grader who are both sad they have been sidelined.
Both of these moms want to see their kids play sports this fall, saying that having their kids stuck inside can take a toll on them mentally.
"They're going to go down the wrong track or they're just going to they're just going to get lazy. They're going to get depressed. They're not going to have opportunities. Michigan kids are not going to have the same opportunities moving forward if they had a chance of moving forward in sports as the rest of the kids playing in other parts of the country,” says Jayme McElvany, organizer of 'Let Michigan High School Football Play'.
The organizers say they want to keep the politics out of the event and come together safely for the kids.
"We have a right as parents, and it is our choice to make the decisions for our kids, not our leaders, that weigh the risks. We know the risks, we've taught our kids to know and weigh risks. And so it's our choice. And that's our fight," says Tracy Barker, organizer of ‘Our Children, Our Choice'.
Attendees will be required to wear masks at the rally in Lansing.
There will be guest speakers including a doctor, nurse, athletic director along with a superintendent and coaches.
