Sacrificing her dreamWearing a hijab on the basketball court had never been a problem for Abdul-Qaadir. Her agent informed her that the International Basketball Federation, or FIBA, stipulated that no player could wear a head covering -- including the hijab -- during games. "There is zero conflict between my faith and my ability to play basketball," Darsh Preet Singh, the first turbaned Sikh basketball player in the NCAA, said in 2017 while praising the rule change. In 2014, while advocating for the rule change, Abdul-Qaadir launched "Muslim Girls Hoop Too," an initiative aimed at instilling "confidence, self-worth, strength, and most importantly, a sense of faith" through basketball. "Now I just live vicariously through the people who did get to play," Abdul-Qaadir said.

Source: The Nation November 07, 2020 13:06 UTC