Albuquerque priest calls off basketball game after some crowd members refuse to wear masks
The pandemic has brought out a lot of different emotions from people and recently, a local Catholic priest called off a middle school basketball game because of the issue of face masks. "This pandemic, it has brought out the best in all of us and it's also brought out the absolute worst in all of us," Father Vincent Chavez, the pastor of St. Therese in Albuquerque, said.
He described to KOB 4 what happened on Jan. 7, during a sixth-grade basketball game between Hope Christian School and Legacy Academy that was held at his churchs gymnasium. He was at home when he got a call from someone at the game who asked him to go to the gym after people refused to wear their masks.
"I would go up the steps of the bleachers with a box of masks presenting them to people just presenting them to people gently and I was getting scattered push back on it," Chavez said. That's when he decided to step onto the court in the middle of the game to address the crowd.
"I am the Catholic priest here, you are in our home," Chavez said in the video.
He also said, according to state law and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, masks must be worn inside. In the video, some of the crowd can be heard reacting negatively. "So we ask that you put on masks, or the doors are here and there," Chavez said. "Our boys are trying to play. It costs you nothing to put your mask on, just put it on so our kids can play."
One of the people who was seen not wearing a mask replies, "Mind your own business. I'm drinking, thank you."
... after a few seconds, Chavez decides to call off the game.
https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/albuquerque-priest-calls-off-basketball-game-after-some-crowd-members-refuse-to-wear-masks/6372060/?cat=500