A video taken at a junior high football game in Ohio has become a cultural Rorschach test that perfectly encapsulates 2020.
Alecia Kitts was sitting in the bleachers at the game and repeatedly ignored PA announcements that masks were required for all attendees. The school was adamant about the mask requirement to avoid the football season from being shut down.
"If you chose not to (wear a mask) then you threaten not only our ability to have sports but put your ability to watch as a spectator in jeopardy as well," Marietta City Schools Superintendent Will Hampton said according to The Daily Mail.
But when asked by School Resource Officer Chris Smith to mask up, Kitts refused, claiming that she has asthma.
Kitts response is strange being that people with asthma have a higher risk of dying from COIVD-19, so it'd be in her best interest to wear a mask when in public.
So, the officer had to take things to the next level by physically removing her from the venue. "You're not arresting me for nothing, I ain't doing nothing wrong," Kitts protested.
"Let go of me!" Kitts yelled. "Get off of me, sir! What the f*** is wrong with you?"
Then, a struggle ensured with Kitts refusing to comply with the officer. So he pulled out his taser and zapped her on the shoulder, causing her to plunge down to the next bleacher level.
One incredulous person at the scene of the incident can be heard on the video saying, "Tasing this lady over not wearing a damn mask." You can almost feel the "smh" head shake happening off-camera.
Here's where things get dicey.
Some look at the tasing and say that it's an extreme use of force for not wearing a mask. But, the reason she was hit with the taster is that she was physically resisting her removal. So, the officer used it to gain some leverage over her.
To some, the scene appears to be the state using oppressive violence to subdue a woman who's exercising her freedom to go without a mask.
However, some say that it was totally fine for the woman to be tased because she posed a major health risk to those around her by not wearing a mask. Heck, if she had COVID-19, she put other people watching the game at risk of a deadly disease. Not cool.
To go a step further, how would people's reactions change if the woman being tased was Black and the officer was white?
After the tasing, Kitts wised up and allowed herself to be handcuffed and removed from the stadium.
The Logan Police Department released a statement in support of Officer Smith.
"After several attempts to get her to leave, Officer Smith advised her she was under arrest for criminal trespassing and asked her to place her hands behind her back multiple times and she refused," the police statement reads.
"Officer Smith attempted to place her hand behind her back, the female began resisting by pulling away from the Officer and another female began interfering with the arrest," the statement continues. "Officer Smith advised her to comply or he would deploy his Taser if she did not quit resisting.
The department also clarified that she was not arrested for refusing to wear a mask but because she wouldn't leave the premises.
"Once she refused to leave the premises, she was advised she was under arrest for criminal trespassing, she resisted the arrest, which led to the use of force," the statement reads.
However one feels about the video, we'd all just like life to go back to normal where we can attend public events like football games without the feat of becoming COVID-19's next victim. Kitts should have understood that we're all in this together and that the more of us who mask up, the faster life will return to normal.
Ketel Marte was brought to tears during an MLB game after facing a shameful fan taunt.
Baseball manager's poignant support for a player brought to tears after shameful fan taunt
Whether they’re expecting perfection from their favorite players or, worse, behaving callously toward opposing teams, sports fans often forget that athletes are human beings. But athletic competition has the ability to unify and uplift, even amid such painful and unpleasant encounters. Take, for example, a major-league baseball game held June 24, 2025 between the home team Chicago White Sox and visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.
A shameful low point occurred when Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte was at bat in the seventh inning. Per ESPN, a fan reportedly yelled out a comment regarding Marte’s late mother, Elpidia Valdez, who died in a 2017 car accident in the Dominican Republic. Team personnel, including manager Torey Lovullo, then requested the 22-year-old fan be ejected. (Though he was remorseful and admitted his actions were inappropriate, according to an ESPN source, he was nonetheless banned indefinitely from all MLB ballparks.) "We commend the White Sox for taking immediate action in removing the fan," the MLB said in a statement. Marte reportedly declined to comment.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
While the fan’s behavior is inexcusable, it did spark a powerful and inspiring moment. After hearing the comment, Marte was visibly upset, prompting Lovullo to walk on the field, put his arm around him, and offer some words of encouragement. "[I said,] 'I love you, and I’m with you, and we’re all together, and you’re not alone,'" Lovullo said in a post-game interview, as documented by The Rich Eisen Show. "'No matter what happens, no matter what was said or what you’re heard, that guy is an idiot.’"
According to Arizona Republic, Lovullo heard the fan’s comment but didn’t want to repeat it. “I looked right at [Marte] when I heard,” he said. “I looked right at him, and he looked at the person, as well. He put his head down and I could tell it had an immediate impact on him, for sure."
Elsewhere in the post-game interview, the manager called the moment "terrible" and reflected on why he stood up for Marte. "Fans are nasty, and fans go too far sometimes," he said. "I love my players, and I’m gonna protect them…I’ve known Ketel for nine years. He’s had some unbelievably great moments and some hardships as well and some really tough moments in his life. I know those. At the end of the day, we’re human beings, and we have emotions. I saw him hurting, and I wanted to protect him."
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
The following day, the Chicago White Sox X account sent out a message in support of Marte, writing, "We’re with you" and "Baseball is family." On The Rich Eisen Show, the show's host addressed the need to eradicate this kind of toxic athlete-fan interaction: "I was hearing [people saying], 'There’s no place for this in major league baseball.' There isn’t. There’s no place for this in our society. I understand that people are saying the MLB has got to do something about this. Fans have a right to heckle players—this is something that has happened forever…But there is a line."
In another recent, depressing sports moment with a beautiful coda, let’s look to Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the eventual champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. During the first quarter, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles tendon—a devastating injury that could potentially sideline him for most of the 2025-2026 season. Following the game, in a lovely display of sportsmanship, Thunder point-guard and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went to the Pacers locker room to check on his competitor. In a press conference, he said, "You just hate to see it, in sports in general. But in this moment, my heart dropped for him. I can't imagine playing the biggest game of my life and something like that happening. It’s so unfortunate."
- YouTubewww.youtube.com