Marple Newtown Sikh Soccer Player Banned From Game For Head Wear

MARPLE-NEWTOWN, PA – A Marple Newtown School District soccer player who happens to practice Sikhism was removed from a match Tuesday night because of his religious head wear.

The game versus freshman teams from Marple Newtown and Tredyffrin/Easttown school districts was all set for the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 26.

But before the game, a referee reportedly did not let a freshman player who was wearing traditional Sikh head wear onto the field.

The ref was enforcing a rule that limits "illegal equipment," as prescribed by the National Federation of High School Soccer.

"Our District was surprised to learn yesterday that, according to a PIAA soccer referee’s decision, the PIAA apparently does not have a rule that reasonably accommodates the wearing of religious head wear by our student athletes who play soccer," a statement from the Marple Newtown School District's solicitor said in a statement. "Our District is investigating this ruling and has advocated and will continue to advocate for the rights of our student athletes to appropriately wear religious head wear."

However, this district do not believe this was a discriminatory act.

According to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA), districts can apply for exemptions from such rules by requesting certain players be allowed to wear religious items. Once the request is approved, the school will get a notification from PIAA to keep on file in case of a situation such as Tuesday's.

A representative from PIAA said they expect to see MNSD send such a request soon.

The PIAA approves many requests for these exemptions throughout the school year across various sports.

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