“We are unable to provide specific plans yet as we are still evaluating the best options for delivering a memorable experience for 60,000 athletes involved in Winter contact sports," Uyl said. "We will continue asking questions and advocating for all of our schools and athletes as we work toward building our next plans for seasons in basketball, competitive cheer, ice hockey and wrestling. We will be ready with specific timelines as soon as MDHHS clears contact sports to begin full activity."

Uyl says that when protocols are in place, sports can, and have been, done safely. He says that the benefits to kids are more than just getting on the court or ice, but also are important to mental health and give teens an incentive to stay out of trouble.

MDHHS, however, in a statement on Monday, said that there were indeed 42 outbreaks associated with contact sports (high school, college, and other combined) back in the fall. An outbreak can be as little as two positive tests that are connected to a single source.

"Outbreaks of this magnitude have the potential to affect not just a sports team, but the community in which the players and coaches reside as well," MDHHS spokesman Lynn Suffin told Mlive.com on Monday. "Sports that require frequent closeness between players make it more difficult to prevent disease transmission, compared to sports where players are not as close to each other. The risk of COVID-19 transmission is increased by the number of individuals a player physically interacts with, as well as the intensity and duration of that interaction."

McElvany says that there's more at stake than just the virus.

"There's no such thing as sitting back and watching children across the country commit suicide," she said. "We lost two more athletes this week to suicide. We can't just sit back and do nothing."

And so McElvany is organizing a rally this Saturday in Lansing, after holding two similiar rallies in August and November to advocate for football, volleyball, and swimming. Those sports were able to finish their seasons this month as part of the aforementioned pilot project where students were tested for the coronavirus three times per week.

McElvany says the Facebook group that she has run since August now has more than 27,000 members. That includes an increase of nearly 8,000 members in the past three days.

"There's so many parents and athletes ready to sign affidavits for the lawsuit that I just can't even keep up with it," she said. "We have athletic directors reaching out like crazy. We have coaches. I'd say the response for this rally is quadruple from the other rallies. This rally is going to be incredible."

Detroit Public School Superitendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti sent the governor a letter on Monday, which he also released to the media. Vitti said that if schools are open to in-person learning, then sports should be allowed to continue.

“To be direct, winter ‘contact’ sports need to start,” Vitti wrote.“Most of us supported the suspension of winter sports in November and December, but that delay now is unnecessary and causing undue harm to our student-athletes. Our families have analyzed the risk of playing and they want to play. Let the Michigan High School Athletic Association handle sports from this point forward."

There were also calls from some state representatives to allow contact sports.

"Parents and coaches are understandably concerned for their kids,” said Rep. Andrew Fink (R-Hillsdale), who is also a father of five. “Sports provide our young people with confidence and structure while teaching them important life lessons like teamwork and perseverance.”

“Contact sports have not been shown to be a significant vehicle for spreading the virus,” said Rep. Bradley Slagh (R-Zeeland). “Schools have already adopted cleaning and tracking procedures, further reducing the likelihood of the virus being spread.”

McElvany says the rally will be held at 12:00 noon this Saturday at the state capitol, and is a combined effort with Coopersville High School basketball player Ethan Coadey. Coadey was organizing his own rally but McElvaney reached out to combine the rallies.

Uyl says that the MHSAA is ready to proceed when given the opportunity.

“We have said from the start of the 2019-20 school year that we would do everything possible to have three seasons, and play all three to completion," Uyl said. "Our strong advocacy for all sports and seasons – and especially Winter sports – continues every day.”

Whitmer, meanwhile, argues that the restrictions have worked.

"We are the envy of other states," she said Monday. "Our numbers are going down, and we're in a stronger position.We've got to not let our guard down."

The current state order banning contact sports runs through Feb. 21. Non contact sports, including bowling, gymastics, skiing, and swimming, can resume Feb. 1. All winter sports are allowed to practice right now, with no contact allowed.