Islamic USF player: Dispute over uniform led to dismissal

Andrea Armstrong says she was forced to quit. Not so, says USF, which has let her return.

By RON MATUS, Times Staff Writer
Published September 11, 2004

[Times photo: Chris Zuppa] University of South Florida basketball player Andrea Armstrong sits outside the Sun Dome on Friday. Armstrong says her conversion means she must follow Islamic codes that require women's skin to be covered.

USF coach Jose Fernandez told Andrea Armstrong she could wear the clothing for travel, but not for games or practices, Armstrong says.

TAMPA - A University of South Florida women's basketball player who recently converted to Islam said she was forced to quit the team last week after a dispute over religious clothing.

Andrea Armstrong, a co-captain on last year's team, said coach Jose Fernandez objected when she told him she wanted to wear long pants, long-sleeve shirts and a Muslim headscarf in games, to comply with Islamic codes that require that women's skin be covered.

Armstrong said Fernandez told her the clothing would make teammates uncomfortable and also said Islam oppressed women. She also said he telephoned her parents in Oregon and told them she had joined a "cult."

"I just want to play," said Armstrong, 22. "I've been doing this since third grade. This is my life."

Fernandez declined comment, but USF officials offered a starkly different story, saying Armstrong left the team voluntarily and was under no pressure to do so.

Nevertheless, they welcomed her back Friday and promised to help her get a waiver from the National Collegiate Athletic Association guidelines for her clothing needs.

"She's been a valuable member of the team," said USF spokeswoman Michelle Carlyon.

Carlyon said Armstrong told Fernandez on Aug. 30 that she was quitting to devote more time to religious pursuits, then changed her mind days later.

Clothing was never an issue, Carlyon said.

Last week, Armstrong turned for help to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim support group. The group's Tampa office sent a letter to USF protesting "a case of apparent religious discrimination."

This isn't the first time the USF women's basketball program has been accused of insensitivity. In December 2000, the school fired Jerry Ann Winters as coach after players accused her of racial discrimination.

Fernandez was hired as her replacement.

Armstrong joined the USF squad last year after transferring from Kansas State University, where she was not satisfied with her playing time. At USF last year, she started games early in the season but was assigned more of a supporting role down the stretch.

Armstrong said she was raised Catholic, but began exploring other Christian churches in college. None moved her, she said.

At USF, she began asking questions of Muslim students and visited a nearby mosque. In June, she recited the shahadah, or Islamic creed, to officially declare herself a convert.

"It's pure to me ... it's just beautiful," said Armstrong, a senior from Lakeside, Ore. "Each day, I look forward to learning more and growing."

Days after her conversion, Armstrong attended a team meeting wearing long clothes and a hijab, the traditional headscarf for Muslim women.

Afterward, she said, Fernandez took her aside and told her the clothing was unacceptable. Eventually, she said, they agreed she could wear the clothing for travel, but not for games or practices.

Over the summer, Armstrong decided she was compromising her faith and said she told Fernandez so when she returned to USF in August. The issue came to a head Aug. 30, when Armstrong showed up for team photos fully covered.

At the coach's direction, she said she emptied her locker and returned her textbooks.

When she went to pick up her scholarship check, USF officials told her she couldn't have it until Fernandez said it was okay, she said.

Other members of the USF women's team said Armstrong's conversion is not an issue.

"We're not going to judge her by that," said sophomore Rachel Sheats. "She's a wonderful person. ... You can't help but care about her and her feelings."

It's unclear whether Armstrong's wishes will mesh with NCAA uniform guidelines. Exemptions sometimes are granted on religious grounds, including one recently for a Muslim volleyball player who wanted to wear long pants during games.

There are other examples where sports and religion intersected without clashing.

At Towson University in Maryland a few years ago, star player Tamir Goodman, an Orthodox Jew, wore a yarmulke skullcap on the court and did not play games during the Jewish Sabbath.

During the Olympics, several female athletes wore headscarfs.

Armstrong said she didn't think the extra clothing would distract other players, or hamper her abilities on the court.

"It's not affecting anybody," she said. "I'm just me."

Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Ron Matus can be reached at 727 893-8873 or matus@sptimes.com

Source: SPTimes.com