CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Hundreds of high school student athletes from Chicago and the suburbs held a rally in the Loop Saturday, demanding Gov. Pritzker bring back high school sports amid the pandemic.
The vast majority masked up — with a few noses exposed — and chanted, “Let us play." Many held signs that read, "Life, liberty, sports;" "Freedom to play;" and "Let them play."
Ella Woltman, freshman at St. Laurence high school in Burbank, told the crowd the inability to play is crippling the emotional and physical wellbeing of student athletes.
"What we are being told is to keep away from the pandemic, which, ladies and gentlemen, isn't even a pandemic anymore — it is considered an outbreak by the CDC," Woltman said.
However, the CDC still classifies the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic, which is defined as an "event in which a disease spreads across several countries and affects a large number of people."
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One football player said if he gets coronavirus while playing, he’s fine with that because he’d be doing what he loves. The jersey-wearing crowd erupted in cheers to this statement.
Others mentioned their mental health and the negative impact not playing has had on their daily lives. One mom held a sign reading, "My child, my choice."