P-J photo by Christopher Blakeslee Jamestown Jackals basketball team members and officials take pictures with student fans at Thursday’s students day game, held at Jamestown Community College. More than 650 people attended the game.

Parents have raised concerns about their children coming home with condoms after attending a school field trip to a basketball game.

More than 650 middle school and elementary school students from across Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties, as well as Erie County, Pa., attended a game last week hosted by the Jamestown Jackals. The stands at Jamestown Community College were filled with school-aged students, school staff and chaperones. Before the game students had the opportunity to walk through tables with literature from area non-profits who took part in a wellness fair.

One of the tables manned by the Chautauqua County Health Department was giving away condoms before recognizing the age of the students attending the game. At that point the department packed up its tables and left – but not before a number of students took the condoms home.

and service-providing agencies, Thursday at the Jamestown Community College’s Athletic Complex, 525 Falconer St.

Kayla Crosby, owner of the Jamestown Jackals, did acknowledge that while condoms were passed out at the Chautauqua County Health Department’s table, that no contraceptives were thrown out to the public by any team official, and that once Health Department officials figured out that condoms weren’t appropriate for the largely middle school group of students, left the gym area.

“We want to address concerns regarding yesterday’s School Day Game and Wellness Fair,” Crosby wrote in a post on the Jackals’ Facebook page on Friday. “A community organization that participated in the event had prepared materials for college students, mistakenly assuming that they would be the primary audience. Once they – CCHD officials – realized the age group in attendance, they packed up and left. To clarify, T-shirts were the only items thrown into the crowd by our staff. We appreciate everyone who joined us and look forward to continuing to provide positive experiences for our community.”

A message obtained by The Post-Journal attributed the incident to county officials thinking the game and wellness fair was aimed at college students, leading Health Department officials to gear their table toward sexually transmitted diseases.

“Soon after the event started we realized that our information was not appropriate for the audience in attendance, so we left. I apologize for any misunderstanding and hope that you do not get any complaints about it,” the health department employee said in a message to team officials.

County Health Department officials said they want to continue working with area organizations to help promote better health outcomes in a statement obtained Monday by The Post-Journal, though the statement doesn’t say anything about last week’s incident.

“The Health Department remains committed to providing health outreach and education to our community,” said Lacey Wilson, county health director, in the statement. “We are always happy to attend events and work in collaboration with our valued community partners. When reaching young people and college students, we strive to provide relevant information that reinforces what they would be learning in their health and science classes. This approach helps to ensure they are receiving credible information that promotes safe and healthy choices. We thank the Jamestown Jackals and the Suicide Prevention Alliance for hosting this event and look forward to many more.”