Religious runner exalts in victory on athletes’ expression

By PATRICK ORSAGOS and ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A woman disqualified from a cross-country race for wearing a hijab is celebrating a new Ohio law that stemmed from her experience. Noor Abukaram is a former high school athlete at Sylvania Northview in suburban Toledo and is now an Ohio State student. Abukaram is Muslim and was disqualified from a 2019 high school race for wearing a hijab. It hadn’t been an issue up until that point in the season. The law championed by state Sen. Theresa Gavarone forbids school sports regulators from requiring advance waivers or otherwise restricting participants’ religious apparel unless it causes a “legitimate danger.”