WATCH: Utah Mom Says She Was Barred From Coaching a Volleyball Tournament for Breastfeeding

A volleyball coach states she was forced out of the Colorado Convention Center, where her team was competing in a tournament, because she was breastfeeding her child.

Dixie Loveless drove eight-hours from Utah to coach her 14 National team, only to be told by tournament officials that no spectators under the age of 16 were allowed inside the event due to COVID-19 protocols, including her four-month-old baby.

“The issue is she’s under 16,” tournament director Kay Rogness explained to ABC7 in Denver. “The issue is she is not a player. She is not a coach. Those are the only facts.”

“I feel like the message they’re sending to these girls is you can’t be a mom and you…don’t get to be a mom…and coach. I have to choose volleyball or my family,” Loveless told ABC7 Denver.

But Loveless’ team supported their coach, carrying baby dolls into the building as they continued to play in the tournament, winning all three of their matches. Another coach, Nikita Eby also stated she was similarly barred from bringing her two-month-old daughter into the Colorado Convention Center for the tournament, a step backwards for nursing moms.

Colorado State law says “a mother may breastfeed in any place she has a right to be.” But this was a private event, with rules for entry being set by USA Volleyball and the organizer of the tournament.

Just last month, University of Arizona women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes made headlines after she emerged from halftime later than her players during the NCAA Tournament championship game. In an effort to normalize working mothers, Barnes acknowledged she was pumping breast milk for her six-month-old baby.

Watch above via, ABC