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.
A Black high school student in North Carolina was forced to cut beads out of her braids in the middle of a recent softball game in order to keep playing – and her family believes she was singled out unfairly.
Nicole Pyles from North Carolina, was forced to cut her hair during softball game
Sophomore was told her hairstyle covered the number six on her jersey
Nicole said she had worn box braids with clear beads in previous five games
Stuffed hair into her sports bra but umpire said to take them out or she can t play
Team snatched beads out but some needed to be cut out as they were tight