CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Student athletes from Illinois are requesting a face-to-face meeting with Governor Pritzker and others about possibly getting medium COVID-risk sports back on the field.
Thornton High School senior Jonny Rodriguez said he and a couple of other student-athlete representatives would like to meet with Governor Pritzker, Deputy Governor Jesse Ruiz, and Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike to plead their case for getting back on the field.
"We want to talk to you personally, so you guys can help us understand what it is that we have to do. We’re all ready to go. We’re all behind one idea. We just need to know what we have to do," he said.
"The power of sports is powerful in the lives of all of us. It plays a big role. Without sports, many of us cannot get those athletic scholarships to continue in life. And, without it, there's a big possibility many of us won't get an education."
Plainfield Central High School senior Kaylie Dahms said athletes from other states will have an advantage at college scholarships if Illinois students have to wait until the spring and summer.
"It's just not ideal for us to receive athletic scholarships a month before we're supposed to be on a college campus," she said.
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Student athlete Lizbeth Barajas, a senior at Solorio Academy, calls it "frustrating." She also said, in a comment directed at the Governor, "You play a big part in the reason why at-risk communities like mine won't be able to make it out. Have this conversation with me and help student-athletes make college a reality."
Jonny Rodriguez appealed to Dr. Ezike as a mother of student-athletes.
"I also know you speak Spanish, and I no longer know how else you want us to say it but, ‘Quieremos jugar’. We want the opportunity to play," he said
Student athletes plan to host a Turn on the Lights #LetUsPlay rally at a park in LaGrange Friday night.
WBBM Newsradio has reached out to Governor Pritzker's office for comment.