A Black softball player says she was forced to cut off her hair beads at a game. Her family wants to change the rule they say is discriminatory
It was her last home softball game of the season, and Nicole Pyles, a sophomore at Durham Hillside High School in North Carolina, had just hit a double. Her hair, braided with beads and tied in a bun at the bottom of her neck, was the last thing on her mind.
It quickly, however, became a focal point of the April 19 game. First, a coach on the opposing team claimed they couldn’t see her jersey number, Pyles said. Pyles, 16, said she tucked the braids into her sports bra and continued playing. But then, later that same inning, it came up again.
May 15, 2021 / 01:42 PM EST
(CNN) It was her last home softball game of the season, and Nicole Pyles, a sophomore at Durham Hillside High School in North Carolina, had just hit a double. Her hair, braided with beads and tied in a bun at the bottom of her neck, was the last thing on her mind.
It quickly, however, became a focal point of the April 19 game. First, a coach on the opposing team claimed they couldn’t see her jersey number, Pyles said. Pyles, 16, said she tucked the braids into her sports bra and continued playing. But then, later that same inning, it came up again.
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A Black softball player says she was forced to cut off her hair beads at a game. Her family wants to change the rule they say is discriminatory By Leah Asmelash, CNN
Julius Pyles via WRAL
Nicole Pyles was told the beads in her hair went against the rules and she had to either take out the beads or sit the game out, she said.
(CNN) It was her last home softball game of the season, and Nicole Pyles, a sophomore at Durham Hillside High School in North Carolina, had just hit a double. Her hair, braided with beads and tied in a bun at the bottom of her neck, was the last thing on her mind.
As one of several state lawmakers who have looked into operations and assets of the N.C. High School Athletic Association in recent weeks, Sen. Tom McInnis has been appointed to a General Assembly subcommittee created to examine issues concerning oversight and supervision of public high school athletics.
According to a press release, the subcommittee on interscholastic athletics was established this year under the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations to examine issues concerning the administration and management of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
âFor so many families in my district, high school athletics is the center of their social calendar. Friday night football games bring together the entire community,â said Sen. McInnis, who represents the 25th District that includes Moore County. âThe N.C. High School Athletic Association has amassed more than $41 million in assets, an amount unheard of for all other high school athleti