Sep 14, 2004

USF Awaits NCAA Ruling On Veiled Athlete

By GARY HABER
ghaber@tampatrib.com

TAMPA - It will be the National Collegiate Athletic Association's call whether a University of South Florida women's basketball player wears a Muslim head scarf during games.

On Friday, USF officials said they would petition the NCAA to allow Andrea Armstrong, a senior forward-center and co- captain who converted to Islam, to wear a head scarf, called a hijab, long pants and long-sleeve shirt during games and practices.

Erik Christianson, a spokesman for the NCAA in Indianapolis, said Monday the group has not received a request from USF. The NCAA receives about one or two requests a year and considers them on a case-by-case basis, he said.

Armstrong, 22, has said she was forced off the team and lost her scholarship because she wanted to wear the hijab, which is part of Islamic religious practice.

USF officials deny that, saying Armstrong quit the team. She rejoined the team after a meeting Friday with school officials.

``She's a member of our basketball program, and we're moving forward,'' head women's basketball coach Jose Fernandez said. ``We're focusing on the upcoming season.''

Armstrong, a communications major, transferred from Kansas State in 2002. The Lakeside, Ore., resident sat out the 2002-03 season in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. She averaged 3.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game last season. She could not be reached for comment Monday.

Ahmed Bedier, Florida communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he was pleased with USF's handling of the matter.

``Once they understood the ramifications that they were possibly infringing on the athlete's First Amendment rights, they were accommodating,'' Bedier said.

Armstrong ``wants to finish off her collegiate career on a positive note, without controversy,'' Bedier said. ``But she didn't want to compromise her faith.''

If the NCAA grants Armstrong's request, she will be one of only a handful of athletes to wear religious garb on the playing field.

At the Olympic Games last month in Athens, Rakia al- Gassra, a runner from Bahrain, wore a hijab with her nation's flag on it when she competed in the women's 100 meters. She finished fifth in the first round, second heat.

Tamir Goodman, a Jewish basketball player at Towson University in Maryland, wore a skullcap, called a yarmulke, when he played.