A middle school girl was kept out of the first half of a basketball game Saturday because a referee ruled her religious headscarf, called a hijab, was a safety hazard.
Thirteen-year-old Maheen Haq of Hagerstown, Md. was sidelined until Lou Bachtell, the Mid-Maryland Girls Basketball League regional director, arrived to the court at halftime, called league President Jim Shannon and got an exemption approved.
Haq's parents were upset, though they didn't protest the referee's decision. Other parents watching the game volunteered to pull their daughters out of the game and walk out in protest, but Haq's mother Anila, declined the offer. [ABC News] Read more
