Let the girl play, jeez...

A teenage girl in Maryland was the victim of religious persecution in a youth basketball league earlier this week, when 12-year-old Maheem Haq, a Muslim, was forced to sit on the bench for the first half of a basketball game because of her headscarf.

According to WJZ TV in Baltimore, Haq refused to take off her headscarf when a Hagerstown youth basketball league ref requested she do so. Her refusal led the ref to bar her from the game's first half.

"We were very upset when we heard about it," Connie Cline, the mother of one of Haq's teammates told WJZ. "She has been able to play the entire time and there's never been a problem."

[Rewind: During Ramadan, Muslim athlete must forgo water at workouts]

While the referee's decision has been widely condemned, the official was technically within his right, because the Mid-Maryland Girls Basketball league hadn't asked for a specific exemption to allow Haq to wear her religious wrap in games. The official in question, who has not been named, deemed that the scarf represented a safety hazard and banned Haq from the game on those grounds. It has already been announced that the referee will face no penalty for his decision to force Haq out of competition.

"The referee was within his rights. He was right to do what he did," Mid-Maryland Girls' Basketball's Daphnie Campbell told WJZ-TV. "I will accept full responsibility for it. Being new, no, I didn't know anything about it. I didn't know I had to ask for permission, I didn't know a letter had to be on file. I didn't know anything of that."

Still, the decision was a surprising one, because it was the first time any referee had made a comment about Haq's headwrap. The 12-year-old had previously played basketball while wearing a headscarf for three years without incident.

[Related: Teen kicked off basketball team for hairstyle]

The television station reported that Haq's team actually offered to forfeit the game as a protest of the perceived discrimination against the Muslim player, but Haq's family refused to allow it. Instead, the teen's father said his daughter sitting out the half was a way to stand up for her religious beliefs and prove one can accommodate both Muslim traditions and modern American pastimes.

Since the disputed matchup, Haq has been allowed to return to game action with her headscarf thanks to a new league bylaw, which stipulates that a written request from any athlete's parents is enough to grant a uniform exemption.

[Related: Teens fight breast cancer bracelet ban]

Haq's parents filed that paperwork, and the 12-year-old is back competing with her teammates.

"I was upset a little bit because I really wanted to play and I enjoy playing basketball," Haq told WJZ. ...

"[Now] I feel really happy. I feel great."

While the incident may have led to some hurt feelings, Haq's coach said his player's insistence on maintaining her beliefs also helped teach a life lesson to her teammates.

Muslim headscarf forces teen girl to bench in hoops game - Prep Rally - High School? - Yahoo! Sports

This is going to become more and more of an issue as time moves on. As it currently stands, officials wont even let players dunk pre-game due to safety concerns. I'm not sure what the answer is, people should be allowed to participate freely and openly in society regardless of religious beliefs. However, what happens when someone gets injured because of them? Granted, the risk is probably less than 5% but have you ever seen anybody get hurt dunking a basketball in a pre-game warm up?

There lies the problem pvfan. Not knowing the league rules, the ref was probably within the proper rules due to uniform issues. Just like not letting people wear silly bands, rubber bands, wrist bands all over, necklaces and etc, its considered a safety concern. The technical for pregame dunking has been around a long time, and I have seen people get hurt doing it in pregame. Its not common, but it happens.

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Originally Posted by 1inStripes

There lies the problem pvfan. Not knowing the league rules, the ref was probably within the proper rules due to uniform issues. Just like not letting people wear silly bands, rubber bands, wrist bands all over, necklaces and etc, its considered a safety concern. The technical for pregame dunking has been around a long time, and I have seen people get hurt doing it in pregame. Its not common, but it happens.

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Agreed, it doesn't happen often but it does happen. What happens when the head covering comes off (for whatever reason) and causes an injury?

If that happens, two groups are likely to be held accountable and face a possible lawsuit. The basketball league, and the refs.

On another related subject, in Virginia and other parts of the country, are the mennonites. They are allowed to play in skirts because it is part of their religion/lifestyle. I have seen them play softball in these skirts.

I fully understand and respect their religious rights, but sometimes things can get out of hand with an athelete's attire. There are provisions in the NFHS rule books that allow for such attire, so I don't think the referees could be held responsible here if an injury did occur during a game because of religious attire. I believe this would be the ultimate responsibility of the governing atheletic association and the school/parents of the person involved.