MOSTResource.org

Resources on Muslims for the Entertainment Industry

  • Story Bank
    • Business & Technology
    • Entertainment
    • Culture & Lifestyle
    • Medical
    • National
    • Faith
    • Sports
    • Women
    • World
  • Resources
    • Faces & Places
    • Statistics
    • Infographics
    • Research / Reports
    • Quick Takes
  • Perspectives
  • Events
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Staff
    • Parent Organization
    • Videos
  • Story Bank
  • Business & Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Culture & Lifestyle
  • Medical
  • National
  • Faith
  • Sports
  • Women
  • World
mostresource storybank video

Explored Our Story Bank Yet?

Our curated collection of thousands of stories has helped top Hollywood writers, producers, and creatives. Watch our brief video to learn more.

Faith, Sports, Women — March 13, 2017   

High School Basketball Player Gets Benched For Wearing Hijab

Original article by Jesse Dougherty published in the Washington Post on 03/13/2017

Photo Credit: Washington Post
Photo Credit: Washington Post

Je’Nan Hayes is a basketball player at Watkins Mill high school in Maryland, and was recently forced to sit out a game, after being told that she was not allowed to participate because she wears a hijab. Je’Nan has played in the first 24 games of the season without anyone informing her or her coach about a rarely enforced rule which states that “documented evidence” is to be provided when a player wishes to cover their head for religious reasons.

“I felt discriminated against and I didn’t feel good at all,” says Je’Nan. “If it was some reason like my shirt wasn’t the right color or whatever, then I’d be like, ‘okay.’ But because of my religion it took it to a whole different level, and I just felt that it was not right at all.”

According to the Washington Post, “Everything had felt normal to Hayes — she warmed up with her team, stood for the national anthem and then retreated to the bench — until late in the fourth quarter. Watkins Mill had little chance of coming back and the Wolverines’ reserves, the ones Hayes normally enters the game with, were all on the court. After Oxon Hill won, 51-36, Adams pulled Hayes aside. She apologized to Hayes and explained she did not play because of her hijab. Hayes immediately broke down in tears.”

School administrators disagree with the decision to not let Je’Nan play. “The officials of the game there took a strict interpretation of the rule, instead of the spirit of the rule,” says Andy Warner, executive director of MPSSAA, Maryland’s governing body for high school athletics.

As for Je’Nan, she’s taking the setback as a teachable moment (to herself!). “I just want to be an advocate for boys or girls, anybody who is trying out for a sport and has a religion and they feel like their faith can interfere with the way they play sports… It shouldn’t be that way. And because of rules like these, I feel like it makes people scared or turn away from sports, and I don’t want that to happen to anybody else in the future.”

Read more ...

Our Experts Are Here To Help

Contact Quick

Want to start a conversation with our experts for help with your project?

Related Articles

  • M Film Lab Now Accepting Applications for Screenwriting Program
  • American Eid – Interview with Director Aqsa Altaf
  • Post vaccine, Muslim travelers are heading to… Israel

More From The Story Bank

M Film Lab Now Accepting...

Applications are now open for the inaugural M Film Lab: a free-to-join screenwriting workshop and mentorship opportunity for storytellers and creators committed to fair artistic representation of … [Read More...]

American Eid – Interview...

American Eid is a new, short film on Disney+ about two sisters from Pakistan adjusting to their new reality in America when they are unable to take off school to celebrate Eid, the festival after the … [Read More...]

Post vaccine, Muslim travelers...

Last year the Abraham Accords were signed between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. This marked a public normalization of relations not seen in decades. And with this new … [Read More...]

Meet the first Muslim head...

As new head coach for the New York Jets, Robert Saleh is making history as the first Muslim American to lead a team in the National Football League. The Lebanese American is also the third Arab … [Read More...]

Meet American’s Youngest...

According to The Hill, Bushra Amiwala "is part of a new generation stepping into politics." In 2019, she was elected to the Skokie Board of Education in Illinois, making this Pakistani-American … [Read More...]

Enter your email to receive periodic updates

Sign Up Quick

Sign up to receive periodic updates

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About | Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy© 2002–2025 MOST ResourceMOST Resource globe


We use cookies to improve your browsing experience and to collect anonymous data to enable us to manage our website. Our Privacy Policy is a complete disclosure of our data collection policies, including the choices you have to control information we might collect. Your use of this site represents your consent to our Privacy Policy.