Student athletes, parents and coaches in Northern Nevada say they plan to protest until high school sports can resume again.
Saturday afternoon, demonstrators gathered at the State Capitol building, echoing the same message heard at a Washoe County School District (WCSD) meeting earlier this month. Three words were repeatedly chanted, "Let us play."
However, Saturday's plea was specifically for the Governor's eyes and ears.
According some protestors, they reached out to Washoe County School District officials about their concerns and they were redirected to the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA).Â
Joe Lawrence, a WCSD coach who participated in protest said, "The director of the NIAA made it clear that it's not the NIAA's fault. It really goes back to the Governor's directives."
A letter from the NIAA's executive director says Phase 2 restrictions and requirements are still in place for the reopening of high school sports. This is despite the state moving away from a phased approach, as county's in Nevada work on targeting COVID-19 problem areas and industries.
To read the full letter and COVID-19 restrictions on high school sports, you can click here.
There will be no high school sports for the rest of 2020. Winter sports are expected to resume by January 2 of next year, but Saturday's demonstrators say they want to start playing now.
High School athlete Eva Damonte said, "We've been waiting long enough. We're ready to play out in the filed. We can't live our lives in fear."
"For our seniors and juniors, this is an essential recruiting period so we need to be able to get out there and show what we can do while having fun." Reagan Stephens, another high school athlete that attended the Carson City protest.
Demonstrators were encouraged to wear face coverings during Saturday's protest. A majority of attendees complied, however some student athletes said COVID-19 isn't as much of a concern, because they believe they can play safely. Many protesters also referred to reports that a majority of states in the U.S. are continuing Fall sports this year.
John Patterson, a WCSD coach said, "All these kids want to do is get involved in doing the sports that they love, get out there, get them physicality going and get their mental state going."
"Going from online school to homework online, there's just never a break, so having the break of sports is really important for everyone our age, " said Damonte.
