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.