CINCINNATI — A fourth-grade basketball player and his family were ejected from a game and nearly suspended from his league after his mother was accused of not complying with the league's COVID-19-related mask rules.
Jennifer Chaney, 38, was taking video of the game when a Cincinnati Premier Youth Basketball League (CPYBL) official approached her saying she had to leave the premises for not properly wearing a face-covering during the game.
As she packed up her camera and exited the building, she argued that her expulsion "doesn't make any sense."
Chaney and her family -- including her son, who was still on the court at the time of the confrontation -- were advised to leave.
The video indicates Chaney was filming the game from the corner of the gymnasium but did not make clear her precise distance from other spectators. She indicates in the video that a number of people in the bleachers were noticing her for not wearing a mask per league rules.
"It is on," Chaney said to an off-camera spectator. "I'm over here by myself."
Eventually, CPYBL president Ben Goodyear, who identified himself in Chaney's video, indicated that she was "not wearing (her) mask," in violation of league rules.
Watch raw video of that confrontation here:
Note: Roughly 15 minutes of video precedes this clip, in which there is occasional dialogue between Chaney and others about her mask.
Other moments in the video indicated that Chaney was wearing a mask but possibly not in a way that totally covered her nose and mouth.
At one point, as she was being asked to leave the game, Chaney said, "You don't even know if I have a medical condition."
Chaney later told WCPO that she does have such a medical condition but did not wish to divulge specifically what that condition is.
Earlier in the video, Chaney indicated that she had already talked to another spectator who suggested her mask protocol "was fine." She and another individual later discussed in the video how her distance from the crowd should quell any concerns about not wearing her mask properly.
"If I was around anybody, that would make sense, but I'm not," Chaney said.
She said the incident shook her son.
"At first, I think he was a little confused, shocked, disappointed, hurt, embarrassed," Chaney told WCPO.
In a statement, CYPBL president, Ben Goodyear, said:
"In accordance with the State of Ohio Department of Health Covid-19 Sports Order, the CPYBL has established clear Covid-19 guidelines for all participants, including coaches, players, parents/spectators. The guidelines require all game attendees to wear a mask at all times. In this case, the parent was given multiple opportunities to wear her mask but she refused. Therefore, she was asked to leave the gym. We did this because the CPYBL takes the safety of players, coaches, officials, and fans very seriously."
