“Let Them Play” rally scheduled for Monday in Frankfort

LEXINGTON, KY (WTVQ) – With the future of fall sports in Kentucky still in limbo, parents of athletes in Kentucky are taking action. In a Facebook group titled, “Let Them Play”, the group is planning a rally Monday in Frankfort. It’s set to begin at 10 AM. One of the admins of the group, Dawne Perkins, posted a call to action message to the group which has grown to more than 22,000 members in just a matter of days. It reads in part,

”YOU have been given no choice and Frankfort is calling YOUR name…

As rumors continue to fly about Governor Andy Beshear and the Kentucky Department of Education having plans to shut down fall sports on Monday, August 24, 2020, this group continues to grow in numbers and cries of desperation to simply, “Let them Play!” Right now, and more than ever, YOUR child needs community, normalcy, and hope.

Therefore, our next move is UNITE in Frankfort beginning at 10:00 AM EST tomorrow, August 24, 2020, and come together as ONE. There will be full schedule available later today.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr said it best, “There is POWER in numbers and POWER in unity!”

Our goal for tomorrow is to have 10,000 plus to represent the 80,000 plus KHSAA student athletes and every other athlete in the state of Kentucky.  We need individuals, families, teams, and communities to MASK up and be a VOICE of REASON!  Our numbers will tell YOUR story.”

On Thursday, the KHSAA voted 16-2 to continue with the schedule they voted on earlier in the month. This called for fall sports practice to begin August 24 and competition to begin September 7 for most fall sports and Sept. 11 for football. That evening, Governor Andy Beshear voiced his disappointment with the decision.

“I was surprised,” Beshear said when asked during his daily briefing about the decision by the KHSAA to go forward with fall sports.

“I know our kids want to play, but we can’t let the kids make the final decisions,” he said, suggesting he thought the board would go forward with low contact sports like golf ad tennis, which “would make sense.”

“I haven’t been given the KHSAA plan yet…I want to take some time and think it through…I worry about the domino effect on other sports, if an outbreak starts ad the impacts players who also play other sports in the next season…we’ll look at what they have,” he continued, noting his response ultimately could be “advice, a strong recommendation or something else.”

On Friday, both Jefferson County and Fayette County Public Schools announced they would be putting the beginning of practice on hold until both can meet. Both boards will meet on Monday evening.