More than 100 student-athletes will ask California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday to “level the playing field” and let them go back to the sports they love, while Officials from Let Them Play CA will deliver thousands of letters Thursday the Governor in the group’s latest push for youth sports to return in California.
California and Nevada are now the only states without football.
Organizers say more than 12,000 letters showcase data on why sports should be allowed amid the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to shedding light on how the past year has played out for student-athletes in the state. They’re also planning to hold a rally Thursday in Sacramento.
The group called “Let them Play” says youth sports have resumed in almost all other states, and they also plan to deliver 10,000 personal letters and petition signatures to the governor, asking to let them get back to training and competing.
Brad Hensley, a founder of the Let Them Play CA group, will hold a press conference Thursday, arguing that it’s not too late for schools to hold a sports season this year.
“As soon as the governor announces the ban on youth sports is lifted, 3 million kids are ready to get off the bench and start playing sports,” Hensley said. If you listen to the governor’s press conferences over the last two or three days, they are progressively getting more positive. He is marching to a drumbeat of ‘We need youth sports back, I want youth sports back, in the next day or two I’m going to give a better answer in terms of when we can return youth sports,’ so being on the inside and I hear that cadence, it keeps me very positive.”
Brad Hensley, Let Them Play CA
