(CNN) “We had to make this very difficult decision between our love for our faith or our love for the sport.”
Simran Jeet Singh — The executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Religion and Society program, which studies religion, racism and justice — recalls his own experience fighting for inclusion as a turban-wearing Sikh athlete.
Growing up in Texas, he said he and his brothers were often denied the right to play sports in school and college because of their turbans, a religious head covering worn by men of the Sikh faith.
His voice is one of the voices that hail the creation of the American state of Maryland. Inclusive Sports Clothing Actalso known as Bill 515, which came into effect on July 1.
The law requires the Maryland Public High School Athletic Association, governing bodies of public institutions of higher education, county boards of education and community college boards of trustees to allow student athletes to alter their athletic or team uniforms to conform to their religious or cultural requirements or modesty preferences.
Under the law, modifications to sports or team uniforms may include head coverings, undershirts or leggings worn for religious reasons.
Singh’s younger brother, Darsh Preet Singh, was the first turban-wearing Sikh American to play high-level NCAA college basketball.
Bill 515 states that “any modification of the uniform or headgear must be black, white, the predominant color of the uniform, or the same color worn by all players on the team.”
Modifications to the uniform must not hinder the athlete’s movements or pose a risk to the athlete’s safety or that of others. The bill also states that modifications to the uniform must not “cover any part of the face, unless it is necessary for the safety of the wearer.”
In a Press release In a statement released by the Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Director Zainab Chaudry said, “Our lawmakers have fundamentally leveled the playing field and improved the lives of thousands of children in our state.”
She added: “Maryland ranks among worst states in America “On juvenile justice… This progress is long overdue, and we thank the bill’s sponsors and all the lawmakers who voted on the right side of history on these measures.”
Forced to choose between faith or sport
“I am very happy to see that a state in the United States, Maryland, is no longer banning people from playing the sports they love because of their appearance,” Singh said. CNN Sport.
“I think that’s what I really believe in sports. Sports are supposed to bring people together, not divide them.”
Singh remained true to that belief during his time as a student-athlete, where he and his brothers petitioned various sports governing bodies to allow them to play in religious garb, paving the way for greater inclusion.
Singh (pictured here in blue) running across the Brooklyn Bridge with the city’s Sikh running club.
To be able to play high school football while wearing his turban, Singh said he petitioned the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and received a letter allowing him to be transported from game to game, stipulating that he could maintain religious attire while playing.
“While it was helpful to me personally, it was essentially an exception to a discriminatory rule. But now we are at a point where we should just change the rule that is discriminatory,” Singh says.
“We should not put the onus on individuals, especially children, to get permission to play and that’s a really important part of this Maryland rule.”
Getting permission to play in religious clothing was the very hurdle facing student athletes like Je’Nan Hayes.
In 2017, the Maryland student was barred from her basketball team’s first regional final because of her hijab, for which she said no one had previously invoked a rule stating she needed a waiver signed by the state.
Noor Alexandria Abukaram had a similar experience. The Ohio high school athlete was disqualified from a district cross country meet in 2019 for wearing a hijab, which she later discovered violated uniform regulations since she had not obtained a prior waiver to wear the head covering.
Abukaram’s experience has fueled his campaign for legislative change. Earlier this year, the state of Ohio signed a bill Senate Bill 181under which student athletes will no longer be required to present an exemption to play sports in religious dress, following similar legislation passed in Illinois in 2021.
Last year, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Athletic Rules Committee added a new rule claiming that students no longer need permission from state associations to wear religious head coverings in competition.
A NFHS Press Release states that in 2021, athletics was the eighth sport to “change rules related to religious and cultural origins.”
Other high school sports in which athletes no longer need prior approval to wear religious head coverings include volleyball, basketball, football, field hockey, spirit and softball, according to the NFHS statement.
In swimming and diving, competitors will be able to wear full-body suits for religious reasons without having to obtain prior permission from state associations.
Singh cites other examples of progress beyond the world of high school sports. In 2014, world soccer’s governing body FIFA approves wearing of religious headscarf on the field and, in 2017, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) changed its rules to allow players to wear approved helmets.
Permission to play does not guarantee acceptance
Despite this, Singh says there is still much progress to be made in the world.
“It’s great that Maryland has made this decision. It’s huge,” he told CNN. “But I think it should be true in every state in the United States. I think it should be true in every country. I think it should be true for every governing body in sports.”
And for players wearing religious clothing, permission to play isn’t the only barrier to acceptance.
Singh recounts the backlash his younger brother Darsh Preet Singh received after he made history by becoming the first turban-wearing Sikh American to play high-level college basketball, governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Singh’s younger brother, Darsh Preet, was the target of widespread online harassment after the 9/11 attacks because of his turban.
Critics have sought to tarnish this triumph through a series of online harassment Darsh has been targeted. Images of him playing basketball with his turban have drawn derogatory comments and been used to create racist memes online.
“There were anti-Muslim comments,” Simran Jeet Singh said of the harassment her brother suffered. “After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, our appearances match the profile well who the Americans thought were their enemies.
The problem is not limited to the United States. The Singh brothers’ stories highlight the racism and xenophobia that are fueling ongoing debates around the world about religious dress in sports.
Earlier this year, French MPs propose ban on hijab in competitive sports, threatening the inclusion of women from minorities, such as the French Muslim community.
In March, a Indian High Court upholds ban on the wearing of the hijab or veil in educational institutions in the state of Karnataka, following religious clashes and growing tensions between the country’s majority Hindu population and minority Muslim population.
Singh says such a conflict can only be resolved by demonstrating “collective humanity” and genuinely recognizing that just because legal bans on religious dress exist does not mean those rules are fair or just.
“I think people need to come back to the table and say, ‘Hey, these rules weren’t necessarily created for the society we live in today or to accommodate global diversity,'” he said.
“It’s about equality and inclusion and there’s still a lot we need to work on.”
