No Joy For Fitness Centers And Gyms

Hundreds of fitness centers and gyms were ready to open this morning. A US District Court Judge gave them protection from Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s virus closing order.  But a hasty appeal for an emergency ruling from the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals is proving fruitful for the Governor. Not so much for fitness centers and their memberships. A three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit is ruling overnight the Governor’s closing order stands.

The court’s written opinion is abundantly clear that the three judges believe the hardships faced by some, even potentially losing a business, pale in comparison to the needs of the many.  The opinion states, “Shaping the precise contours of public health measures entails some difficult line-drawing.  Our Constitution wisely leaves that task to officials directly accountable to the people.” Some observers believe the judges then are more inclined to back away from what it believes are politically motivated decisions.  That may be more clear with another section of the appeals court opinion which goes on to say, “Crises like COVID-19 can call for quick, decisive measures to save lives. Yet those measures can have extreme costs—costs that often are not borne evenly. The decision to impose those costs rests with the political branches of government, in this case, Governor Whitmer."  The Whitmer administration is releasing a statement indicating the Governor is more than pleased with the ruling.

The Battle Creek Family YMCA was ready to open at 6 this morning. The Sherman Lake YMCA in Augusta and the YMCA of Greater Kalamazoo both decided to wait until Monday the 29th to reopen, all based on the ruling from federal Judge Paul Maloney here in Michigan. Most every fitness center and gym in southern Michigan still closed due to the Governor’s virus closing order was ready to open this morning. That may be a solid indicator of the level of support the fitness professionals are putting into the Whitmer administration virus controls.  There’s no word yet if the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit challenging the Governor will appeal this latest ruling.