Most Michigan high school sports are getting a late start this fall, and now a new executive order will make sure you see sports like you’ve never seen before.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an Executive Order 2020-180 on Wednesday, mandating a face-covering be worn at all times by “athletes training for, practicing for, or competing in an organized sports when the athlete cannot maintain 6 feet of social distance, except for occasional and fleeting moments.”
Swimmers are excluded from this order, but football, soccer, and volleyball players are not.
So, expect to see players on the field and on the sidelines wearing masks under their helmets when games begin Sept. 18.
This order does not apply to pro sports, though.
According to a governor’s spokesperson, teams like the Lions don’t have “to operate notwithstanding any other provision of the order as long as they do so subject to a CDC compliant safety plan and without live audiences.”
The Lions will not host fans at Ford Field for Sunday’s season opener against the Bears or the Oct. 4 game against the Saints. But the team hopes to be able to have some fans for their six other home games this season.