FIBA revokes hijab ban
Basketball chiefs reversed a controversial ban on professional players wearing headgear after fierce criticism that the rule undermined diversity by disallowing religious coverings like the Muslim hijab.
The decision by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) means religious headwear can now be worn on court.
“The new rule comes as a result of the fact that traditional dress codes in some countries, which called for the head and/or entire body being covered, were incompatible with FIBA’S previous headgear rule,” it said in a statement.
A furious Qatar withdrew their women’s basketball team from the Asian Games in 2014 because FIBA said they were not allowed to wear headscarves on safety grounds, calling the ban an “insult”. Many sports, including football, now allow women to wear the hijab.
In the same year, FIBA also ran into trouble when Sikh players from India were forced to remove their turbans at the Asia Cup in China and had to tie their hair with elastic bands.
The new guidelines, which will take effect in October, stipulate that headwear must not cover any part of the face, including eyes, nose and lips.
It must also be black or white, or the “same dominant colour” as the uniform, and not be dangerous to players.
For the 2012 London Olympics, the International Olympic Committee and the International Judo Federation agreed to allow Saudi judo player Wojdan Shahrkhani to compete while wearing a headscarf. She made history that year as one of the first Saudi women to ever compete in the Olympics.
American fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad became the first athlete to wear a hijab while competing for the United States in the Rio Olympics, earning a bronze medal as part of Team USA.
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WIPING RECORDS NOT COWARDLY: IAAF
The radical plan to wipe out athletics’ world records set before 2005 was not a cowardly proposal, a senior member of the sport’s governing body said Thursday.
Olivier Gers was respond ing to criticism from Britain’s Paula Radcliffe, the women’s marathon world record holder who stands to lose her place in the record books if the root-and-branch idea goes ahead.
“I am not sure what’s cowardly about this,” said Gers, chief execu tive of the Interna tional Association of Athletics Feder ations (IAAF).
“It’s a sad reality of our sport that we are doubting some records What it allows us is to reset the bar. It’s a very difficult decision.”