Let Us Play rally held on lift bridge

As thousands met in Lansing, a local gathering lined the pedestrian walkways across the Portage Lift Bridge on Saturday morning. They amassed to send a message that student athletes deserve to have a winter sports season. Hockey players made up the majority of the crowd. Players and coaches from Calumet, Hancock Central, Houghton, and Jeffers High Schools stood next to junior hockey participants.

Jets Coach Ric Cormier noted that online learning and the general isolation that has defined school since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on students. He says that to take away sports and other activities like drama and theater is damaging to them, and that needs to be taken into account when making these decisions.

Cormier says that non-contact practice is a step in the right direction, but games can’t return until the staff is allowed to reintroduce the physicality of hockey into practice.

As of about 11:40 AM, the Houghton High School girls’ basketball team also had a significant contingent on hand for the rally. The gathering was scheduled from 11 AM until 12 noon.