Whitmer Permits Fans At High School Sports While Tigers Play To Empty Stadium?

Under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s reopening plan for schools, spectators are allowed at both indoor and outdoor high school sporting events in regions deemed to be in "phase 4" of recovery from the coronavirus epidemic and lockdowns. All parts of Michigan are currently considered to be in at least phase 4.

The order specifies that the number of spectators at large high school “stadium events” is limited to 100, and unless from the same household they must keep six feet apart.

In phase 5, limits on spectators at high school events are "strongly recommended" but not required.

Yet different rules apply when it comes to restarting professional sports. Under a Whitmer executive order issued June 25, “No live audiences are allowed, except for staff of the facility at which a sporting event is held and media personnel reporting on, filming, or otherwise documenting the sporting event.”

These provisions suggest Michigan may see a fall sports season where high school football teams play before stands full of fans while the Detroit Tigers play to an empty stadium.