State Rep. Andrew Fink, of Hillsdale, is urging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Department of Health and Human Services to amend their unilateral orders and to allow winter contact sports to resume in Michigan schools as was previously anticipated until the governor extended the pause last week.

Fink said he has heard from countless parents, coaches and students about their concerns regarding winter sports.

“Parents and coaches are understandably concerned for their kids,” said Fink, a father of five. “Sports provide our young people with confidence and structure while teaching them important life lessons like teamwork and perseverance.”

Fink also pointed to the scientific data showing the extremely low likelihood of the COVID-19 virus being spread through contact sports.

“We’ve not seen scientific data to suggest that playing contact sports is a contributor to the spread of the virus, in fact, the data suggests quite the opposite,” Fink said. “And by adopting the required cleaning and tracking measures, we can even further curb the virus’ unlikely spread.”

Winter sports were scheduled to start Monday, Feb. 1 before the governor’s recent extended order banning contact sports until Feb. 21.