A former high school and college basketball standout returned to her native Springfield Wednesday to speak to students about her efforts to overturn rules prohibiting her from playing professional basketball overseas while wearing a hijab.
Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, who holds the state’s high school scoring record, told 8th graders at the Renaissance School that the policy by FIBA, the organization which governs international basketball, effectively bans religious headgear.
But Abdul-Qaadir said she hopes her challenge will help pave the way for others who want to play while staying true to their faith.
“It’s larger than even just Muslims,” she said. “This is for Jews, for Sikhs because they can’t play. Men who wear the yarmulkes can’t play, Sikh men who wear the turban; they cannot play. So it’s bigger than me, and I hope that rule is removed so nobody else has to go through what I went through.”
At the urging of Council on American-Islamic Relations, FIBA is currently reconsidering its rules on headgear.