A few hundred high school athletes, their parents and other supporters rallied outside Michigan's Capitol in Lansing Saturday in support of the reopening of sports programs shut down by COVID-19 restrictions.

Orders released earlier this month by Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services bans contact winter sports like basketball, wrestling, hockey and competitive cheerleading.

Various coaching associations have written letters to Governor Gretchen Whitmer and other state officials urging that their sports be allowed to continue.