Former NBA player Dennis Rodman was confronted by police on Monday morning after he refused to wear a face mask on a plane despite being asked four times.
Rodman, 60, also known by his nickname 'The Worm', was sitting in first class on a JetBlue flight from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale where he had been asked by staff to pull up his mask, which he left to rest on his chin.
As COVID cases continue to surge, airports and airlines have continued to enforce the federal mask mandate for staff and passengers in order to maintain the spread amid the presence of the new Omicron variant.
The former basketball star was said to have complied with the mandate after being asked by staff but continued to pull his mask down as he claimed he had trouble breathing.
Following multiple confrontations, Rodman met with deputies from the Broward Co. Sheriff's Office after they landed.
He was later let off the hook after he agreed to cooperate with them and was not issued with a citation.
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman, 60, was confronted by police in an airport on Monday morning after he ignored the mask mandate while on a flight. He is pictured in Fort Lauderdale in August
Rodman sitting in first class on a JetBlue flight from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale
Rodman was later let go by deputies with the Broward Co. Sheriff's Office at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
As stated on JetBlue's site, all travelers aged two or older must wear the mask throughout the flight as well as in the airport during the boarding and landing process.
The face mask must also be worn above the chin to properly cover the nose and mouth.
The incident on the flight is not the first time Rodman has failed to comply with COVID guidelines.
Rodman was previously seen failing to maintain social distancing as well as complying with the mask mandate in September 2020 while he was interacting with fans at a Whole Foods Market in Los Angeles.
He was seen talking and shaking hands with his mask at his chin even though his fans continued to wear them properly as they interacted with the basketball star.
Rodman was previously seen ignoring social distancing guidelines and keeping his mask below his chin while interacting with fans at a Whole Foods Market in Los Angeles in September 2020
Rodman had kept the mask under his chin while the fans kept theirs on when interacting with him
Rodman is also not the first celebrity to face controversy over the mask mandate as British model Katie Price previously was kicked off a connecting flight from Las Vegas in November after she refused to wear a mask.
Price, 43, was flying with her Love Island star fiancé Carl Woods, 32, when a passenger claimed that she had refused to comply with the mandate four times before she was kicked off.
The model's fellow tourist took to Twitter to share details of the alleged incident, writing: '@KatiePrice Just got thrown off our flight from New York to Las Vegas with her boyfriend !! So annoying and embarrassing. Wear your bloody mask was it worth it...
'Apparently she was asked 4 times to put mask on and she refused when warned she would be taken off the plane she said go on then...
'They had no idea who she was - Carl looked mortified. She said to me “I didn’t do anything” ! Matching cream tracksuits so embarrassing.'
Katie's friend however disputed the claims, telling The Sun: 'Katie was on the phone to her kids so had pulled the mask down to be heard more clearly...
'She was just finishing up the call when cabin crew came over and told her she needed to wear the mask over her mouth.'
On the account from the traveler, the friend went on: 'Not true. She chose to exit the plane as she hadn’t finished speaking to her kids. She just walked off and got the next flight out - there was no big drama.'
Model Katie Price, 43, was reportedly kicked off a connecting flight from New York to Las Vegas with her fiance Carl Woods, 32, after she refused to wear a mask after being asked four times
A fellow passenger on the flight tweeted about the incident
The new Omicron variant became the dominant COVID strain in the US as it recently accounted for 73 percent of all cases.
The new variant is also said to be responsible for 90 percent of new infections in the New York area, the Southeast, the Midwest and Pacific Northwest.
With the upcoming holiday season, TSA workers are screening more than two million passengers at airports despite rising case numbers.
As of December 19, the daily average case count in the U.S. was up to 133,012, up 21 per cent from two weeks ago.
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 was up to 69,387 per day on average, a 16 per cent increase from two weeks ago.
Deaths were up 9 per cent, to 1,296 per day.
The new case count for the Omicron variant has reached 1,079 in total- a 25 percent increase from the 858 cases confirmed on Sunday morning.
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