High school athlete, 16, is disqualified at her cross-country meet for wearing her Nike hijab that officials called a 'uniform violation'

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An Ohio high school athlete was disqualified from a cross-country meet for wearing a Nike hijab. 

Noor Abukaram, who is a student at The Bounty Collegium, was preparing to check in for the Sylvania School District's race at Owens Community College in Findlay, Ohio, on Saturday when her coach was told there was a problem with her uniform.

The 16-year-old has competed with the Sylvania Northview High School girls cross country team for the past three years and has never had a problem with her Nike hijab, which Nike specifically created for women athletes.

According to her cousin, Zobaida Falah, Noor was not informed that her hijab was a problem until after the race.  

'Instead, they let her run the race thinking she was fine and after the race, while she was searching for her time alongside her teammates, she discovered her time wasn't there,' Falah wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday. 

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Noor Abukaram (pictured on Saturday), 16, an Ohio high school athlete, was disqualified from a cross-country meet for wearing a Nike hijab on Saturday

Noor ended up running the race without being told that she was disqualified due to her hijab

'When she asked why, her teammates responded, "because of your hijab."' Falah added.

Falah also included Noor's recollection of the incident in the Facebook post. 

According to Noor, officials were checking her and her teammates as per usual to make sure there were no uniform violations. 

Noor said one of her teammates had to change their shorts because of a stripe that didn't match the rest of the team's shorts. 

'Immediately, I began to wonder if they were going to call on me next since I was wearing all black pants and hijab. I have been a student athlete my entire life, and every time we compete, the thought crosses my mind during uniform checks. At this point, the girl on my team changed her shorts and I was relieved that they had not said anything to me,' Noor said. 

But that's when she noticed something 'suspicious' happening between her coach and the officials. 

Noor said she overheard the official instructing her coach: 'Don't tell her now wait till after.'

By then the race was about to start and Noor says she focused on having a great race. 

'I finished my race, gave my teammates hugs, talked to people at the race and overall was having a great day,' she said. 

That's when she found out her team would be going to regionals and went over to check her placing. 

However, her name was not on the board, which prompted her to ask her teammates about it. 

'At this point, I'm confused and was confident that this was a mistake so I walk over to the rest of my team and say to them, "hey guys my name isn't on the list." They all stared at me blankly and finally they said, "you got disqualified."

Nike first released the Nike Pro Hijab in 2017. A year later, the company released their Dream Crazy ad that featured NFL star Colin Kaepernick. The ad also featured boxer Zeina Nassar (pictured) who sported the black version of the Nike hijab

'I did not immediately think anything of it I chuckled and asked, "why?" But they weren't laughing, so one of the girls looks at me and says, "because of your hijab." 

'Immediately my heart drops, I become nauseous and feel like I got punched in the gut. This is something that I had always feared which has now become a reality. I just walked away and my teammates didn't say anything else,' Noor said. 

Noor said her hijab has never been a problem during races before and officials from the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) have never mentioned her hijab being a 'uniform violation' previously. 

Moments later, Noor said her dad called and she told him how 'humiliated, disappointed, and rejected' she felt after the incident. 

She then went to speak to her coach who explained 'that in order for me to race he would have had to fill out a waiver allowing me to race and he assured me that he will get this waiver signed and I will race at the regional invitational'.

'The officials did not give me the same respect that they gave my teammate who was also violating a rule when they told her to change her shorts and gave her the chance to fix herself. I wasn't given the chance to explain myself to them because they didn't have the decency to tell me what the issue was,' Noor wrote. 

Noor said she feels like her rights as an athlete 'were violated' because the rule prohibiting hijabs does not exist in writing. 

Jeffery Flowers, the girl's varsity cross-country coach, confirmed to Yahoo: 'When our team got to the line, an official asked for the written exemption letter coaches are required to have for uniform violations.

'I did not have one and the official said that I could either substitute another runner, ask her to take off her hijab, or she could race but would be disqualified at the finish. I made the decision to let her run.' 

A spokesman for the OHSAA told the DailyMail.com: 'Cross country runners may participate in competitions with religious headwear, provided the runner has obtained a waiver from the OHSAA and submitted it to the head official before the race, since it is a change to the OHSAA uniform regulations. 

'The official was simply enforcing this rule since a waiver had not been submitted. After the race, the OHSAA communicated with the school, which then submitted a waiver request. 

'The request was approved immediately, which will permit the student-athlete to compete this weekend at regional competition. This emphasizes our continual requirement to also assist in educating our coaches on all sport rules. 

'The OHSAA licenses its officials and continues to emphasize consistent enforcement of OHSAA and NFHS rules in all sports. The OHSAA is also already looking at this specific uniform regulation to potentially modify it in the future, so that religious headwear does not require a waiver.'

Nike first released the Nike Pro Hijab in 2017. 

A year later, the company released their Dream Crazy ad that featured NFL star Colin Kaepernick, who many have criticized as being anti-American after kneeling during the National Anthem.

The ad also featured boxer Zeina Nassar, who appeared in the black version of the Nike hijab. 

The two-minute collection of stories celebrated not only diversity but also encouraged everyone with dreams of greatness and goals that may seem insurmountable to 'just do it,' which is Nike's mantra.