Basketball team disqualified from semi-final of national tournament because they had a girl playing for them

• Charlottesville Cavaliers were taking part in national competition last week
• All players checked in, including Kymora, and showed birth certificates
• Team were then allowed to play for four days before being thrown out
• Officials say rule change at start of year means girls cannot play with boys
• But Kymora's mother says officials told the Cavaliers that each team was allowed one girl, before later changing their minds

By Chris Pleasance For Dailymail.com

Published: 09:42 EST, 5 August 2015 | Updated: 14:12 EST, 5 August 2015

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Jessica Thomas-Johnson has hit out after the Charlottesville Cavaliers basketball team were thrown out of a tournament because her daughter, Kymora (pictured), was playing for them

A mother has hit out at sports officials after her daughter's basketball team was disqualified from a national tournament because of a rule change banning girls from playing with boys.

Jessica Thomas-Johnson has spoken of her disappointment after the Charlottesville Cavaliers, from Virginia, were thrown out of a competition last week because her daughter Kymora, ten, had played with them.

The Cavaliers had won all four of their games during the tournament in South Carolina last week, and thought they had won a fifth match to progress to the semi finals when they were disqualified.

The organizers of the tournament, the National Travelling Basketball Association (NTBA), said the Cavaliers had breached tournament rules which changed at the start of the year banning girls from playing on boys' teams.

They claim the Cavaliers' team coach was informed of this rule change as the players were checked in for the tournament, when they are required to show ID and their school records, and that he was told if Kymora played they would be disqualified.

However, Ms Thomas-Johnson says the organizers of the tournament got this wrong.

She claims when the team was signing in, they were told that each team was allowed one girl to play with them, and that a second girl's name was crossed off the team list to allow Kymora to play.

Kymora then played between five to ten minutes of four games over four days, starting on Wednesday, July 29, while watching officials knew she was a girl, Ms Thomas-Johnson said.

It was only on the fifth day, after a spectator had apparently complained to the NTBA, that officials took the team aside after they had won their quarter final match to tell them they were not allowed to progress to the next stage.

Speaking to Dailymail.com, Ms Thomas-Johnson said: 'Kymora didn't even play in that fifth game, but the officials said that because she had played in the previous four games, that meant the team was disqualified.

'All of those previous games had been 20 point victories, and Kymora only scored five or ten points per game, so even if you deduct her points from each game, it doesn't make a difference.

'She offered to take herself off the team and not play in the semifinal or the final so that the team could keep on playing, but we were told that wasn't an option.

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Ms Thomas-Johnson said her daughter has been left 'very upset' after her team was allowed to progress to the quarter finals of a tournament last week before they were disqualified after progressing to the semifinals

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Ms Thomas-Johnson said officials initially told the Cavaliers (pictured wearing pink in protest at their disqualification) that only one girl was allowed on the team, before later changing their minds

'The team we beat in the quarter final went on to win the tournament, so there's a good chance we could have taken the title but for what happened.'

She said her daughter had been left very upset by what had happened, knowing that her team had dropped out of the tournament because of her.

She added: 'She knows the team do not hold her responsible, and everyone has been so supportive.

'The team even showed up to the semi-final wearing pink kit in silent protest, but even so she is very upset about it. 

'Ultimately it was her presence on the team that stopped them from progressing, and there really is no way of getting around that. 

'I've been sending her off to camp and trying to keep her busy, because then she seems to be OK.

'It's when we're not doing anything, when we're eating or laying down together, that she starts to get more upset about it.

'Our community is putting together a celebration for her and the rest of the team so hopefully that will still make them feel like champions.' 

Ms Thomas-Johnson said Kymora has been playing for the Cavaliers since she was five years old, and has even taken part in the same NTBA tournament before without a problem.

Kymora was signed up for the Cavaliers because there was no all-girls' team available for her to join at aged five, her mother added.

 

Kymora Thomas-Johnson speaks out after team disqualification

 

 

Courtesy: KMVT 

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Kymora began playing for the Cavaliers aged five, and even participated in the NTBA tournament before, but their rules were changed at the start of this year banning boys and girls from playing together

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Ms Thomas-Johnson said the community in Charlottesville has been extremely supportive of her daughter, but she is still upset that her presence on the team cost the Cavaliers their place in the competition

Ms Thomas-Johnson said that she has investigated all-girls' teams since then, but Kymora didn't feel comfortable leaving a team she was so involved with, and that none of the other teams were playing at the level the Cavaliers were.

She said the team were unaware that the rules on allowing girls to play changed in 2015, and said the NTBA failed to make this clear, tucking the alteration away in the 'other' section of their website. 

In a statement sent to Dailymail.com, the NTBA said: 'We changed the rule for our 2015 season because we got numerous complaints from both coaches and parents last year about girls playing on boys teams during our National Championship. 

'We also had a boy's parent contact us about playing on a girls team last year during the girls nationals which is not allowed. 

'Keep in mind our policy is the same with most other national basketball organizations like ourselves across the country. Most do not allow cross gender play.'

Now, Kymora is facing a difficult decision about whether to keep playing for the Cavaliers, knowing she will never be able to participate in another national tournament again, or whether to leave.

Ms Thomas-Johnson added: 'We're trying to figure out what happens next. If the Cavaliers want to have her she wants to keep playing with them but we are exploring other options.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3186009/Basketball-team-disqualified-semi-final-national-tournament-girl-playing-them.html#ixzz3i1spZ0YC
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