Let Them Play MN v. Walz

• Decision Date: 08 February 2021
• Docket Number: File No. 21-cv-79 (ECT/DTS)
• Citation: 517 F.Supp.3d 870
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota
• Parties: LET THEM PLAY MN; Jane Doe 1, both individually and as parent and guardian of Jane Doe 2 and John Moe 3, minors; John Moe 4, as parent and guardian of John Moe 5, a minor; Jane Doe 6; Jane Doe 7, as parent and legal guardian of John Moe 8 and Jane Doe 9, minors, Plaintiffs, v. Governor Tim WALZ, in his official capacity; Attorney General Keith Ellison, in his official capacity; Commissioner Jan Malcolm, in her official capacity; Commissioner Tarek Tomes, in his official capacity as designated coordinator of youth sports for the Administration of Governor Tim Walz; Minnesota Department of Health, Defendants.

517 F.Supp.3d 870

LET THEM PLAY MN; Jane Doe 1, both individually and as parent and guardian of Jane Doe 2 and John Moe 3, minors; John Moe 4, as parent and guardian of John Moe 5, a minor; Jane Doe 6; Jane Doe 7, as parent and legal guardian of John Moe 8 and Jane Doe 9, minors, Plaintiffs,

v.Governor Tim WALZ, in his official capacity; Attorney General Keith Ellison, in his official capacity; Commissioner Jan Malcolm, in her official capacity; Commissioner Tarek Tomes, in his official capacity as designated coordinator of youth sports for the Administration of Governor Tim Walz; Minnesota Department of Health, Defendants.

File No. 21-cv-79 (ECT/DTS)

United States District Court, D. Minnesota.

Signed February 8, 2021

Samuel W. Diehl and Ryan Wilson, CrossCastle, P.A., Minneapolis, MN, for Plaintiffs.

Cicely R. Miltich and Elizabeth C. Kramer, Office of the Minnesota Attorney General, St. Paul, MN, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

Eric C. Tostrud, United States District Judge

This case concerns the state of Minnesota's decision to require youth athletes to wear face coverings while participating in organized sports activities and to limit spectators at organized youth sports events, both in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19. Plaintiffs are Let Them Play MN—a non-profit corporation that opposes these restrictions—and several anonymous youth athletes, parents, and coaches. In this lawsuit, Plaintiffs claim that the face-covering requirement and spectator limits violate their rights under the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, as well as similar guarantees under the Minnesota constitution. Plaintiffs have moved for a preliminary injunction that would bar Minnesota's officials from enforcing the challenged restrictions and for leave to seek expedited discovery.

The motion will be denied in all respects. Plaintiffs have not shown that they are likely to succeed on the merits of their constitutional claims, that they would suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction, that the equities and public interest weigh in their favor, or that there is any need for expedited discovery. What Plaintiffs have shown are sincere, reasonable, and good-faith objections to Minnesota's policies. Plaintiffs’ primary concern is that, when worn by athletes engaged in high-intensity contact sports such as ice hockey and basketball, face coverings heighten the risk of significant injuries, and the evidence Plaintiffs have submitted to support the validity of this concern is credible. Regardless, for many decades now, our federal Constitution has been understood to give the political branches great latitude to resolve difficult questions concerning social and economic policy. These are just the type of decisions Plaintiffs challenge here: the challenged policies balance the interests of limiting the spread of COVID-19 and its sometimes-lethal consequences with the unquestionably positive benefits of permitting Minnesotans to participate in organized sports. Even if Plaintiffs had the better argument as a matter of policy, the law is clear that the appropriate audience for their argument and objections are Minnesota's political branches, not a federal court.

I

A

As most are now aware, COVID-19 is a disease caused by a virus called SARS-CoV-2. Danila Decl. ¶ 5 [ECF No. 28]. The disease has proven deadly; as of February 2, 2021, Minnesota had seen at least 462,528 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 6,202 deaths. Id. ¶ 6. The virus is "primarily spread by respiratory droplets carried through the air and released when people talk, breathe or exhale, cough

, or sneeze." Id. ¶ 5. People can spread the virus even if they are "[a]symptomatic" or will "later become sick but are pre-symptomatic," and this type of unwitting diffusion accounts for more than 50% of COVID-19 transmissions. Id. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC") therefore recommends that people "maintain social distancing of a[t] least six feet and wear a face covering to reduce the risk of transmission." Id. ¶ 6.

Based on these undisputed facts about the virus, as well as "published scientific literature," the Minnesota Department of Health ("MDH") has concluded that some settings pose greater risks of spread than others. Id. ¶ 13. For example, there is a heightened risk "when multiple persons gather close together for an extended period of time," particularly in an indoor setting. Id. Activities that "involve higher levels of exertion and exhalation" can also pose problems because they "greatly increase the amount of airborne respiratory aerosol droplets that can carry" the virus. Id. ¶ 20. On the other hand, outdoor settings that allow for social distancing—as well as indoor settings where people wear face coverings and "do no[t] gather or linger"—are less risky. Id. ¶ 14.

B

The pandemic has inspired significant government responses. On March 13, 2020, the President declared a national emergency and approved major disaster declarations in all fifty states. Miltich Decl., Exs. 5–6 [ECF No. 27-5–6]. That same day, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz declared a "peacetime emergency." Minn. Exec. Order 20-01; see Minn. Stat. § 12.31, subds. 2–3. This kicked off a series of executive orders intended to address different aspects of the COVID-19 threat. Compl. ¶¶ 59–62 [ECF No. 1] (characterizing these actions as "sweeping" and "unilateral"); see Defs.’ Mem. at 6 [ECF No. 26] (listing COVID-19-related executive orders meant to "slow[ ] the spread of the disease, protect[ ] the capacity of the State's medical system, and ensur[e] the continued operation of critical sectors").

This case concerns Minnesota's pandemic-related restrictions on youth sports. Organized youth sports activities were first halted between March 27 and May 21, 2020, at which point they were permitted to resume with a gradually loosening set of restrictions. Compl. ¶¶ 62, 64–70. By July 1, both indoor and outdoor games and practices were once again allowed, and participants were not required to wear masks while playing. Compl. ¶¶ 70–71; see Minn. Exec. Order 20-63 ¶ 7(g) (May 27, 2020).¹ That was more or less the state of affairs for the rest of the summer and early fall.

On November 18, in response to record numbers of "new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions, and deaths[,]" Governor Walz issued Executive Order 20-99, which imposed restrictions on a number of personal and business activities. Miltich Decl., Ex. 9 at 1 ("EO 20-99") [ECF No. 27-9]. As relevant here, that order generally required "Organized Youth Sports organizations [to] stop all in-person activities—including practices, group workouts, games, and tournaments"—until December 18, 2020. Id. ¶¶ 2, 7(g).² Two more orders in December slightly modified EO 20-99. The first extended the ban on most in-person youth sports activities through January 3, 2021, while allowing certain "[o]utdoor workouts, practices, training, [and] skill-building" to resume and allowing indoor sports facilities to reopen for individual exercise as long as "face coverings [were] worn by all persons at all times." Miltich Decl., Ex. 10 ¶¶ 1, 7–8 ("EO 20-103") [ECF No. 27-10]. The second extended EO 20-103's restrictions through January 10, 2021, but allowed public pools to open up for organized youth sports activities. See Minn. Exec. Order 20-104 ¶¶ 1, 4 (Dec. 23, 2020).

Finally, on January 6, Governor Walz issued Executive Order 21-01, which is currently in effect. See Miltich Decl., Ex. 11 ("EO 21-01") [ECF No. 27-11]. That order allows organized youth sports activities to continue so long as they abide by certain requirements, two of which matter to this case. First, entities that provide organized youth sports (and the indoor and outdoor facilities that support them) must develop and implement a "COVID-19 Preparedness Plan in accordance with applicable guidance for youth sports available on [MDH's] Stay Safe Minnesota website." Id. ¶ 7(g)(ii)–(iv). Second, "face coverings must be worn in accordance with applicable guidance for youth sports available on the Stay Safe Minnesota website."³ Id. ¶ 7(g)(v).

As of January 14, 2021, MDH had posted a 16-page guidance document concerning organized youth and adult sports activities. Miltich Decl., Ex. 15 [ECF No. 27-15]. For purposes of the present motion, Plaintiffs take issue with two components of that guidance. The first is the document's elaboration of the face-covering requirement. It provides that face coverings must generally be "worn by all people at all times" and that "[p]eople are not permitted to remove their face coverings during activities that involve a high level of exertion." Id. at 5–6. People with medical conditions that "make it difficult to tolerate wearing a face covering" are exempt from the requirement. Id. at 6. Athletes may temporarily remove their face coverings during several specified activities: while engaging in "wrestling contact" and gymnastic and cheer routines, during which a mask could present a choking hazard; while in the water for water sports; and while playing outside, where social distancing is possible. Id. at 5. And when a child wears a helmet that "interferes with wearing a face covering safely or effectively," the child may wear a "full face shield" instead.⁴ Id.

The second restriction that Plaintiffs challenge is the limit on the number of spectators at youth sporting events. For practices, the guidance "strongly discourage[s]" spectators but allows "[u]p to one spectator per participant." Id. at 7. For games, the guidance urges youth sports organizations to "[s]trongly consider limiting spectators to one to two people per participant," but it imposes no absolute limit as long as they "comply with the appropriate venue guidance and capacity limits." Id. at 8.

C

Plaintiff Let Them Play MN is a Minnesota non-profit corporation that "promotes youth participation in athletics and activities." Compl. ...