A North Carolina high school softball player says she wants to end rules that discriminate against Black student athletes after being forced to cut her hair beads during a game last month. The player, Nicole Pyles, 16, was competing in a game on April 19 at Hillside High School in Durham, N.C., against Jordan High School, according to Durham Public Schools. Image Nicole Pyles in an undated photo. Courtesy Julius PylesThe teenager said that she had worn the same style — box braids with clear beads on the end, popular among Black women — in five previous games without any complaints from the opposing team or officials, according to the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. Her hair reached just past her shoulder blades.

Source: New York Times May 13, 2021 22:41 UTC