Track star and discrimination

If folks are really interested in this, check out this thread. Both the athlete and her Mom are unloading with both barrels. The Quran is even brought into it!

http://md.milesplit.us/meets/29331

I belong to the Church of Colorology. One of our basic principles is that we must always wear very colorful undergarments or we will go to Hell. (I'm wearing my favorite leopard-print undies right now). Is it OK for me to wear multicolored undergarments during a meet or will I be forced to wear a solid color and burn for eternity in the afterlife?

That's right. But you did not read what I wrote. I said that the cop has the discretion to either give you a ticket or a warning. Most of us would hope he gives us the warning, even though he is within his rights to give us the ticket. I was speaking to those who think that rules are ALWAYS to be followed- except when they don't want them to be. Because, you know, this time it involves them.

Tthis thing could have been avoided long before she had a problem with the rules. As I said in my original post, no one in this situation handled it well- not the offical, not the runner or her family, not the coach. Where the offical went wrong was not realizing that because this involved religion, it would blow up in his face and get bigger than it needed to be. Where the kid and parents went wrong is because they expected special treatment when none was required. Where the coach went wrong was in not following the rules and in letting his anger get out of hand. No one wins here. And all becauese her uniform was two colors rather than one- just stupid, when you think about it. Yes, you can speed and not get caught 14 straight times, but when you do, hey, you get a ticket. But here, she wore that outfit for some time, and was never called on it. I still think a warning would have been appropriate rather than a DQ, because the DQ is punitive, when it need not be. It's just a running event, not anything life threatening, so the issue could have been raised and addressed and handled, and really, it was not. What is surprising is how angry people get about it, which probably comes back, in part, to the fact she is a Muslim.

Somehow the officials at the Virginia state CC meet missed this obvious violation despite the runner finishing second in a sprint finish.

http://va.milesplit.us/articles/15861

I hate uniform rules and people on the NFHS rules committee need to lighten up a bit.

Right. We should "get rid" of stupid rules. I don't know when that's going to happen... it's illegal for a woman to be on top during sex in Massachusetts. I think plenty of people will ignore that law until it's "gotten rid of" by law geniuses like yourself.

And this track official is an egomaniac because he's the only official that has ever made a stink about her clothing, and his agenda is to be Mr. Tough Guy. Everyone has a "track official being a dick for no good reason" story, this one is just higher profile.

If a rule is stupid it ought to be repealed, not ignored. Keeping it in the books both undermines the rules that are enforced and it makes it so that they may be enforced selectively in the future by future powers that be.

What kind of moron likes having stupid laws/rules in place? Get rid of them. Repeal them.

Well, go get 'em, Tiger, because there are about ten thousand laws/rules that you need to address immediately. First on your list should be repealing this idiotic uniform rule.

Almost everyone here is missing the point. It was a multicolored undergarment, I am assuming a sports bra, that caused the problem. The rules have been in place for a couple of years as to what can be worn underneath a uniform. This girls coach really dropped the ball on this. Why didn't this coach go over the rules prior to the meet? I know as a coach, I have sat through many a meeting with the team, where we go over this kind of stuff for way too long....but it has to be done. I really hope that the meet officials don't back down on this kind of stuff....regardless of whether or not it is a dumb rule, and yes, it really is, it IS the rule for that meet on that day. Coaches need to tell their athletes and then if the athletes do not abide by the rules, then they can deal with the consequences. It is absolutely wrong for Mom to butt in and scream religious discimination, and totally out there that the coach may have attacked an official. Doesn't DC have rules about that? Most states have really severe penalties if a coach or parent harass or attack any official in any school event...too bad the police weren't called. I hope that coach gets a huge fine for his actions, and maybe fired.

The NSSF rules are pretty clear regarding the fact that anything worn under your uniform needs to be a solid color. However, apparently not all states enforce the NSSF rules to the T. And that is exactly the problem - it wasn't enforced before, so the official here looks like the bad guy.

Had her coach bothered to look into this when she ordered the hood - this wouldn't have been an issue.

This is only going to get worse. If you want to see some maddening replies, check it out here:

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/wusa/T4UVI473G00GEUNNU

yeah, okay wrote:

Parenthetically, Islam itself does *not* require the hijab--that is a cultural, not religious, stricture (though widely adopted in many Islamic cultures).

This is true. She claims she must remain covered because of her Muslim faith. She has to remain covered because of her (and her family's) interpretation of the Muslim faith. Which is cool with me. I'm Catholic and Catholics believe all kind of crazy stuff that does not appear anywhere in the Gospel.

I was in Tunisia once and I was surprised to learn that in Tunisia women are forbidden from covering their heads in government buildings or in the university. Forbidden!!

I asked a Muslim woman who worked at the Embassy how the government could get away with that - even in America Muslim women can stay covered if they choose to. She snapped at me: "The hijab is not in the Quran! Please read the Quran and find it for me. It comes from Saudi Arabia. It is foreign and not Islamic!"

OK then.

Since we haven't heard from Jesse and Reverend Al demanding any firings, I'd say the discrimination complaint could be credible on this one.

There needs to be new rules defining when existing rules are enforced. USATF needs new rules that state that enforcement of rules cannot be influenced by whether the official dislikes a particular athlete's physical, religious, or political beliefs, and that all rules are to be enforced evenly without regard to skin color, religion, etc. This case is a good example of the rules not being equally enforced. Selective enforcement of the rules based on the officials dislikes and likes cannot be allowed to continue. USATF Marshalls should be at meets to police officials conduct. Coaches, athletes, parents, and fans, should monitor, document, and report, any and all evidence related to officials misconduct with the appropriate USATF Marshalls, and civil authorities as applicable to the law.

Even an Uncle Tom like J.C. Watts would agree which you. Hmmm Yea Bro.

I hate to jump in on this because I was not at the meet but some of the comments here are just getting ridiculous. I think there needs to be a lot of revisions to the uniform rules the way they are curently written; however, it appears that the officials made the correct decision.

First off, since I was not at the meet and did not see exactly what she was wearing, I am going to make the assumption that she wore what she has on in this picture:

http://md.milesplit.us/articles/16460

IF this is true, then she was clearly wearing an illegal uniform. The reason? The undergarment she is wearing under the uniform is multicolored - red, white, and blue. The hood has nothing to do with it. The rules clearly state that this is illegal. You can argue the merits or demerits of this rule (personally I think it is a dumb rule) but it is in fact the rule. The funny thing is, if she had just taken off the singlet and shorts and worn ONLY the bodysuit, she would have been (1) covered according to her religion and (2) perfectly within the rules of a legal uniform.

The undergarment rules are the absolute stupidest rules in the entire rules book and desperately need to be changed BUT they are the rules and the officials have every right to enforce them.

Mtn Dew wrote:

If a rule is stupid it ought to be repealed, not ignored. Keeping it in the books both undermines the rules that are enforced and it makes it so that they may be enforced selectively in the future by future powers that be.

What kind of moron likes having stupid laws/rules in place? Get rid of them. Repeal them.

What world do you live in? It must be a great place where all rules are infallible, made by infallible people and when they fall out of favour will automatically be repealed.

Get real man. What is your obsession with following rules? Be your own man sometimes. What are you afraid of? Is the status quo so good for you that you fear any possible chaos that the violation of the slightest will bring on. Seriously, I hope you are 13 and will grow up a bit to realize that life is not black and white and sometimes the rules aren't that great and maybe, just maybe, it might be better to forget them. Otherwise, it is scary to know that there are adults with such a "yes sir" attitude. I don't mean to be harsh, but come on - so many rules suck. We have to question them. It is our duty as members of a free thinking society.

Just think about it.

Canuckster wrote:

Just think about it.

And I still think you're an idiot.

Selective enforcement of rules should be banned from all track meets. The even application of the rule book must become the order of the day at all meets. I'm sure a lawsuit is pending against the meet organizers, and possibly a civil lawsuit is being prepared against the official who selectively enforced the rules based on personal misrepresentations. I'd sure hate to be involved with such an at risk crew.

I just watched a video from this meet, about this athlete, and all of the officials at the meet appeared to be black also. So....where is the racial discrimination?

I will say it again and again, this is the fault of the coach and the parents, for not following the rules. Sure, they are unhappy about it, I would be too if my child didn't get to run because I screwed up. Get over it and move on.

A simple thing for her to do would be to have the coach carry a letter stating the reasons that she wears the hood. I know that athletes are granted exceptions for rules from the governing organization all the time, we had athletes that could not wear the official uniform because they were too big, and all we had to do was carry the letter with permission granted from the governing body at the meets. It isn't a big deal at all, and the coach and parents are TOTALLY at fault for not taking care of this.

This is just a story that gets people emotional because they only know half of the story, and if they knew the whole story it wouldn't have been reported at all because it is too boring.

official wrote:

A simple thing for her to do would be to have the coach carry a letter stating the reasons that she wears the hood. I know that athletes are granted exceptions for rules from the governing organization all the time, we had athletes that could not wear the official uniform because they were too big, and all we had to do was carry the letter with permission granted from the governing body at the meets. It isn't a big deal at all, and the coach and parents are TOTALLY at fault for not taking care of this.

The thing is, it was never about the hood. The hood could be 15 colors if she wanted it to be. The issue was the multi colored tights she wore under her uniform.

Imagine if you were a coach and your team were DQd for a uniform violation, yet imagine if at the same meet, this athlete were allowed to run. There would be the injustice.