BUFFALO, N.Y. — A lawsuit filed Tuesday in Buffalo is aiming to get so-called "high-risk" sports going again in Western New York.
The suit from law firm Hogan Willig is seeking a preliminary injunction, and ultimately a permanent injunction, barring NYS from enforcing restrictions imposed on those sports and letting them operate the same as lower-risk sports.
Under state designations, high-risk sports include basketball, cheerleading, hockey, lacrosse, volleyball, wrestling, and football.
The plaintiffs include 15 parents, eight student-athletes, seven coaches, two school resource officers, and one referee. They come from 16 different school districts and private schools in the Western New York area.
New York State released new guidance for sports and recreation last month which allowed for high-risk high school sports to resume on February 1.
However, following New York State's announcement, the five county health departments in the Western New York region recommended that interscholastic, intramural and amateur wrestling teams and leagues cancel or postpone their winter 2021 seasons.
The Section VI executive committee announced January 27 that it will move wrestling to the spring season due to the high risk of COVID transmission.
You can read the petition for the lawsuit here: