University athletes want the province to change its mind and deem them 'elite'
Players participating in Ontario University Athletics launched a new video campaign this week to get them back on the court and on the ice.
“The purpose of the campaign is to show the different facets in which the news has affected different athletes in the OUA,” said Taijon Graham, a basketball player with Nipissing University.
“In the video, you see athletes, coaches, those in the administration and even alumni who have participated in the Olympics and the Grey Cup, and how this has affected stakeholders.”
University athletes are not participating in games because of provincial restrictions that went into effect Jan. 5. Those health measures are set to expire Jan. 26.
University athletes have also launched an online petition to get the Ford government to reverse course and let the OUA resume play.
“It really started to see how many signatures we could get," said Graham. "We started to see 500, 1,000 and then it started to creep up to 5 000 signatures … It really shows that people are sympathizing with us and want us to get this elite status.”
Graham said university athletes are hoping the petition along with the video campaign, which has been viewed more than 50,000 times, will get provincial lawmakers to act.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Author Salman Rushdie on ventilator after he was stabbed on lecture stage in New York
Salman Rushdie, whose novel 'The Satanic Verses' drew death threats from Iran's leader in the 1980s, was stabbed in the neck and abdomen Friday by a man who rushed the stage as the author was about to give a lecture in western New York.

Anne Heche legally dead, remains on life support for donor evaluation
Anne Heche remains on life support and under evaluation for organ donation after a car crash that led to her brain death, a representative for the actor said Friday.
FBI seized 'top secret' documents from Trump home
The FBI recovered documents that were labelled 'top secret' from former U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to court papers released Friday after a federal judge unsealed the warrant that authorized the unprecedented search this week.
Passengers tackle Canadian man after he became violent, tried to open plane doors mid-flight
A plane bound for Toronto has been forced to divert to Iceland after a Canadian man allegedly became violent and tried to open the aircraft door mid-air.
Canadian who sold his possessions, used up his savings to deliver aid in Ukraine makes a plea for help
Canadian Adam Oake is among volunteers delivering aid to civilians in Ukraine, but he says donations are drying up and he's issuing a plea for help.
Canadian universities earned record-high surplus revenues during COVID-19: StatCan
Canadian universities reported record-high surplus revenues in wake of the pandemic as schools took advantage of last year's strong stock market performance.
EXCLUSIVE | Woman who was stalked by police officer ex-boyfriend says justice system failed her
Despite a police misconduct probe that found a high-ranking B.C. officer had stalked and harassed his ex-girlfriend for years, a criminal investigation into the case did not result in charges.
Canada to test wastewater for polio
Canada plans to start testing wastewater for poliovirus in a number of cities “as soon as possible” following new reports of cases abroad, the Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed on Friday.
Montenegro gunman kills 10 on the street; police kill him
A man went on a shooting rampage in the streets of this western Montenegro city Friday, killing 10 people, including two children, before being shot dead by a passerby, officials said.