Is the hijab still an area of controversy in the sports world?

Sundus Mustapha has been passionate about sports ever since she was a child. Sundus had grown up playing a myriad of sports such as hockey and golf, yet didn’t find her true passion until she kicked a soccer ball.

After years of playing with inclusive, encouraging teammates and clubs, Sundus faced her largest obstacle when she was 12 years old: she had first worn the hijab. It wasn’t until after she had made the decision to wear religious garb on the field that she dealt with instances of Islamophobia and exclusion from her teammates, coaches, and opponents.

Muslims across the United States have faced various challenges when trying to make religious accommodations while playing sports such as wearing the hijab or less revealing clothing. Previously, individual states required a waiver to wear religious clothing while taking part in high school-level sports, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.

According to NFHS, as of 2021, these waiver requirements have been removed following the protests from athletes such as Noor Abukaram, who was eliminated from a track competition for wearing the hijab without a waiver. Sundus, who is cousins with Abukaram, has said that because of protests from her cousin and other hijabi athletes, she never faced institutional pushback herself.

“I definitely had my own personal struggles while playing with the hijab but my coaches tried insinuating that it would be best for me to play with it off,” Sundus said. “I adjusted to their comments though because there wasn’t anything that they could actually do to make me take it off.”

Sundus, who now plays for the NYU Club Soccer Team, has said that she has dealt with less Islamophobia as she has played for different teams throughout her soccer career.

“I remember there was a huge fight that broke out because my teammates in Ohio fought our opponents who were being Islamophobic to me and my cousin,” Sundus said. “Now, club soccer at NYU is so much better because people are much more aware of Islam.”

Rayanna Mustapha, the younger sister of Sundus, has expressed similar thoughts regarding her struggles with the hijab in athletic settings such as the soccer field.

“I’ve dealt with a lot of racism from coaches because they’d bench me for the way I looked or the uniforms I’d wear,” Rayanne said. “Refs would make more calls towards me because I looked different from others. However, NYU is definitely more understanding of my religious obligations.”


Hijabi athletes in other sports have also expressed their opinions regarding the leniency or lack thereof with religious garb and athletic uniformity. NYU Freshman Ayla Tariq said that her swim team with the Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn, NY had provided the Burkini for her to participate in competitions.

“I would say my school was a lot more lenient when it came to hijab and uniform regulations just because they offered to pay for the Burkini to make sure I was as comfortable as possible,” Tariq said. “I was the only hijabi in my entire school so when I was able to combine covering up and swimming, I felt super happy and I had such a great time on the team.”

Conversely, the majority of States in America still require a waiver for religious garb at collegiate-level sports competitions. The National Collegiate Athletic Association hasn’t made any official statements regarding hijab regulations during athletic competitions.

According to Michigan State University, athletes may be allowed to wear the hijab if their state follows the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, such as Illinois and Connecticut. Chrissy Ramos, a Muslim back spot for the NYU Cheerleading Team, has expressed interest in wearing less revealing clothing during competitions.

Ramos, who has been a cheerleader for three years, said that she believes institutions aren’t to blame for hijab regulations.

“A lot of the time my coach is okay with my need for wearing leggings underneath my uniform,” Ramos said. “There were a few times when she wanted to say something but 100% respected my personal values, it wasn’t coming from her personally but from other people watching us perform saying things about me not being in uniform.”

In relation to hijab regulations on the team, NYU Cheerleading Coach Autumn Kovach said that at a national level, religious garb may not be as permissible as it would be for other kinds of competitions.

“The competition probably wouldn’t allow for religious clothing, though I’m not sure,” Kovach said. “If we’re talking about something that restricts you from tumbling and moving across the floor, you cannot wear that on both religious and non-religious levels.”

Despite these health and physical concerns of additional garments to the cheer uniform, the National Cheerleading Association currently does not have regulations for religious clothing.

“Our competition team wouldn’t get disqualified but we’d most likely get points taken off but not for religious purposes,” Kovach said. “The points are getting taken off because everyone doesn’t look the same. Personally, I think it’s fine for religious clothing to be permitted during cheer but just can’t control the scoring.”

As a result of these kinds of penalties and exclusions for hijabi cheerleaders, other hijabis have felt discouraged by the lack of representation in different types of sports. According to Medium, only 18% of athletes in the UK are Muslim women. Though there aren’t statistics on female Muslim athletes in America, the levels of hijab representation in athletics are still relatively low.

“Representation is so important for people like me who never had that because I never saw hijabis on the soccer field,” Rayanne said. “I’d say to play as hard as you can so there are no excuses for them to invalidate you or your success. Teammates and coaches cannot make any excuses because you’re the hardest worker in the room.”