A 16-year-old high school athlete was disqualified from a competition because she wore a headscarf which the officials deemed to be a “uniform violation.
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Noor Abukaram of The Bounty Collegium was looking forward to participating in a race in Findlay, Ohio, when her coach confronted her about her uniform upon check-in.
While the 16-year-old aspiring athlete has competed with a Nike hijab for three years in a row without a problem, the officials branded the headcover a uniform violation this time around.
To make matters worse, Noor was allowed to participate in the race and wasn’t informed that she had been disqualified until the competition was already over.
“Instead, they let her run the race thinking she was fine and after the race, while she was searching for her time alongside her teammates, she discovered her time wasn’t there,” Zobaida Falah, the teen girl’s cousin, wrote in her Facebook post.
“When she asked why, her teammates responded, ‘because of your hijab.’”
Speaking of her worries that she would be disqualified after the officials confronted one of her friends over her shorts, Noor added:
“Immediately, I began to wonder if they were going to call on me next since I was wearing all black pants and hijab. I have been a student athlete my entire life, and every time we compete, the thought crosses my mind during uniform checks.
“At this point, the girl on my team changed her shorts and I was relieved that they had not said anything to me.
“I finished my race, gave my teammates hugs, talked to people at the race and overall was having a great day.”
After attempting to find her name on the results board, however, Noor was confused as she wasn’t even listed.
“At this point, I’m confused and was confident that this was a mistake so I walk over to the rest of my team and say to them, ‘hey guys my name isn’t on the list.’ They all stared at me blankly and finally they said, ‘you got disqualified,’” Noor added.
“I did not immediately think anything of it I chuckled and asked, ‘why?’ But they weren’t laughing, so one of the girls looks at me and says, ‘because of your hijab.’
“Immediately my heart drops, I become nauseous and feel like I got punched in the gut. This is something that I had always feared which has now become a reality. I just walked away and my teammates didn’t say anything else.”
After the family’s complaint and the incident went viral, Ohio High School Athletic Association responded and claimed that people have to secure permission before being allowed to wear headcovers during races.
“Cross country runners may participate in competitions with religious headwear, provided the runner has obtained a waiver from the OHSAA and submitted it to the head official before the race, since it is a change to the OHSAA uniform regulations,” a spokesperson said in an interview with DailyMail.com.
“The official was simply enforcing this rule since a waiver had not been submitted. After the race, the OHSAA communicated with the school, which then submitted a waiver request.
“The request was approved immediately, which will permit the student-athlete to compete this weekend at regional competition. This emphasizes our continual requirement to also assist in educating our coaches on all sport rules.”
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Replaced!