Lapeer Football Players Spoke at #LetThemPlay Rally in Lansing

"Don't dim their Friday night lights."

Parents and players descended upon the Capitol building in downtown Lansing on Friday to protest the Michigan High School Athletic Association's decision to suspend high school football this fall due to the pandemic.

The decision was made late in the afternoon on August 14th (which was upsetting to many players and coaches who were in the middle of practice when the hammer dropped) to move the football season to the spring.

The MHSAA said that football is considered a high-risk sport for the transmission of COVID-19 because of the player-to-player contact.

According to Mid-Michigan Now, a total of 520 11-player teams and 83 8-player teams were scheduled to play football this fall.

A Facebook group called Let Michigan High School football play!! has over 18,000 members and is calling for football to be reinstated.

And football isn't the only sport affected by the decision - volleyball, girls' swimming, and boys' soccer are also being postponed.

A professional photographer captured some pretty moving pictures of Michigan high school football players affected by the decision.

Fox 2 Detroit received a statement from the MHSAA in response to the rally. It said:

"We empathize with these players and understand their disappointment. (We) will continue to advocate for these student-athletes."

While I understand how hard this is for players, parents, and students, we can't forget about the other activities that are being postponed. I know that sports always gets the most support, but there are a lot of kids missing out this fall.

They postponed THE OLYMPICS, you guys. What makes you think that high school football will be a different story??