GMAB: When the Rules Run Up Against Faith

Prep Athlete Wearing Muslim Clothing Disqualified From Track Meet
By Alan Goldenbach
Washington Post Staff Writer

Juashaunna Kelly, a Theodore Roosevelt High School senior who has the fastest mile and two-mile times of any girls' runner in the District this winter, was disqualified from Saturday's Montgomery Invitational indoor track and field meet after officials said her Muslim clothing violated national competition rules.

Kelly was wearing the same uniform she has worn for the past three seasons while running for Theodore Roosevelt's cross-country and track teams: a custom-made, one-piece blue and orange unitard that covers her head, arms, torso and legs. On top of the unitard, Kelly wore the same orange and blue T-shirt and shorts as her teammates.

The outfit allows her to compete while complying with her Muslim faith, which forbids displaying any skin other than her face and hands.

As one of the other heats was held, two meet officials signaled to Kelly and asked her about her uniform. Meet director Tom Rogers said Kelly's uniform violated rules of the National Federation of State High School Associations, which sanctioned the event, by not being "a single-solid color and unadorned, except for a single school name or insignia no more than 2 1/4 inches."

---

Give Me A Break!! You can read the rest of the article and really feel sad about how people.. at the expense of sportsmanship and in particular a young girl's feelings.. follow the letter of the rules even when it goes against the spirit of those same rules. Give Me A Break!! Very sad.. anyone disagree?