MINNESOTA, USA — From state lawmakers to youth sport leaders, some say a select shutdown on certain industries, like what Governor Walz announced Wednesday, isn't the answer.
"We've lost four weeks of sports here and our hope is to keep the governor from extending that any further," said Ryan Wilson, a board member for the youth sports organization, Let Them Play MN.
"When you shut them down, we should have a plan so owners can be able to explain to their employees here's what we're going to be able to do for you while we're closed and we didn't have that," said Republican Rep. Dave Baker of District 17B.
For Discover Strength CEO Luke Carlson, he says it's a lack of data driven evidence that makes accepting the new restrictions so challenging.
"I'm not saying that we don't have to take COVID-19 seriously, we do, but there's measures that we can put in place to make sure the businesses can stay viable," said Carlson. "If we actually adhere to the basic CDC guidelines, gyms are overwhelmingly a safe place to be.”
Now, leaders and parents of students involved in youth sports plan to challenge the governor's plan, using data from a University of Wisconsin study on youth sports and the impacts of COVID, to prove their kids deserve to play.
"We're going to make our experts available to meet with him and hopefully we can have a seat at the table and show him how safe it is for kids to be playing sports," said Wilson.
With so much at stake for so many, Rep. Baker says he won't give up hope on pursuing a different approach to saving both lives and the economy.
"I am kicking and screaming to the doors of the governor’s office and to his team about how they need to listen to us a little bit more so we can share our stories here, and actually give him solid advice so that we can advise him on if you want to shut down restaurants we need a little bit more time than 48 hours," said Rep. Baker. He went on to say, "the legislature we're going to have to do a lot of work to get them built back up again and we're committed to doing that."
Leaders with Let Them Play MN have started a petition to reinstate youth sports and are planning a protest rally in the coming weeks.