Posted on 09/11/2004 9:53:34 AM PDT by yonif
University of South Florida will ask the NCAA to grant an exemption to its uniform policy by allowing a Muslim player to wear Islamic clothing on the basketball court.
Andrea Armstrong, a 22-year-old Muslim convert, left the team and lost her athletic scholarship last week after allegedly being told by her head coach that she could not wear religiously mandated clothing during practices or games. She wanted to wear long pants, a top with long sleeves and a head scarf.
In a meeting Friday between Armstrong, university officials and a representative of Council on American-Islamic Relations, officials agreed that the team would accommodate her Islamic attire and reinstate her scholarship. The university also agreed to work with the National Collegiate Athletic Association on the scarf issue.
"An athlete should not be asked to choose between engaging in healthy sporting activities and her deeply held religious beliefs," said Ahmed Bedier, who took part in the meeting as Florida spokesman for CAIR.
USF officials said Armstrong voluntarily left the team and was under no pressure to do so.
"She is a valuable member of the team," said university spokeswoman Michelle Carlyon.
Other team members said they has no problems with Armstrong's conversion.
"We're not going to judge her by that," said sophomore Rachel Sheats.
Armstrong said she did not think her clothing would distract other players or hamper her abilities on the court.
Religion and sports intersected elsewhere without clashing. At Towson University in Maryland, star player Tamir Goodman, an Orthodox Jew, wore a yarmulke on the court and did not play on the Jewish Sabbath. At the Olympics in Greece, several female athletes wore head scarves.
Probably a hell no, might offend the camel jockeys.
Possibly maybe she will wash her ass more that once a month too.
Crying for the inch but really wanting the extra mile. F'm.
So I guess "shirts vs skins" is totally out of the question?
"Possibly maybe she will wash her ass more that once a month too"
At least 5-7 days a month...if I'm not mistaken...;)
Besides, the female clothing rules are not particularly a funciton of the Muslim religion. Plenty of Muslim women in places like Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt, and Indonesia do not wear even a scarf, many more wear only the scarf, as a symbolic sign of their belief.
I have no problem with anyone wearing whatever they want, as long as they cover a very minimum amount, but in a team situtation, one must conform to the rules of the team. It's incumbent upon leadership to see that those rules are not deliberately discriminatory, but they need not accomodate the wishes of every individual or group.
Dayammn, I would hate sitting next to her in a crowded class-room. I could imagine her saying, "allah akbar," as the other students passed out from her funk infested burka wrap.
She will then have to be executed for apostasy.
Ask the NCAA because I know that is the reason that they are banned. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me either.
She wouldn't be allowed to wear the scarf in Turkey where 99% of the people are Muslim, why should she be allowed to here?
"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity." - Ann Coulter
Great pic but I'd like to see those ladies playing in 120 degree heat in Sharm El Sheik, as a previous poster related!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.