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© Blavity, Inc., 2023

Kentucky Mom Banned From Working As Referee Because She's Gay

She says officials told her that she could no longer volunteer as a referee in the in the Upward Sports program because her sexual orientation against the laws of the church.

February 10, 2023 at 9:08 pm

A Kentucky woman is heartbroken after being banned from working as a basketball referee because she’s gay. Ayanna Mckinney received the devastating message after volunteering for one game in a non-profit sports program affiliated with churches.

According to WCPO, Mckinney said two officials from the Florence Baptist Temple in Burlington, Kentucky delivered the news to her in January when they unexpectedly showed up to the home she shares with her wife and six kids. The officials, according to Mckinney, told her that she could no longer volunteer as a referee in the in the Upward Sports program because her sexual orientation against the laws of the church.

“I was just in disbelief,” Ayanna told WCPO. “I don’t know how they were that comfortable to come to our house and just tell us that.”

Ayanna and her wife Jesika are not part of the church. However, the couple said they paid for three of their children to be part of the organization because their kids wanted to be part of the sports program after seeing flyers at school.

The children signed up in the fall and started participating in December. While two of the kids played basketball in the Upward Sports program, the other became a cheerleader.

Ayanna and her wife Jesika said the officials knew they were married from day one, but they didn’t seem to have a problem with their sexuality at first.

“My biggest thing that I’m going for right now is to make sure that these flyers don’t go home in the school system anymore in children’s bags. I don’t believe they should be advertising a program like this that is not going to get catered to our community and the diverse backgrounds that we all have,” Jesika told WCPO.

Boone County School District said they will ensure in the future that such flyers are not posted at one of their schools.

“Based on what has happened to this family, in the future, we will ensure all flyers will be vetted through the lens of inclusion before approving them to be distributed in our schools,” a district spokesperson told WCPO.

Upward Sports is a nationwide non-profit organization partnering with more than 5,000 churches. The program’s website states that its mission is to promote the discovery of Jesus through sports.