Olympic bronze-medal fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad says she was detained at U.S. Customs for two hours as she tried to reenter the country a few weeks ago, according to PopSugar. Muhammad didn’t say where she was coming from or what airport she was held at, nor did she clarify when, exactly, it occurred. She did say, however, that President Donald Trump’s executive order banning Muslims from seven countries from entering the United States “cast a little bit wider [net] than we know. And I’m included in that as a Muslim woman who wears a hijab.”
American Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad says she was held by U.S. Customs for hours
Last summer, Muhammad became the first American to compete in the Olympics wearing a hijab.
Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images for TopSpin
Muhammad made history last summer when she became the first American to not only compete in the Olympics wearing a hijab, but to bring home hardware for her country while doing so. She’s been outspoken about Trump’s anti-Islamic rhetoric since she sent tweets about it in 2015. Last summer, she said this to CNN:
“I think that [Trump’s] words are very dangerous. When these types of comments are made nobody thinks about how they really effect people. I’m African American. I don’t have another home to go to. My family was born here. I was born here. We’ve grown up in Jersey, I’ve grown up in Jersey. Where do we go?”
Muhammad told PopSugar that when she was detained, her emotional reaction was “to cry, because I was so sad and upset and disheartened — and just disappointed. At the same time, I’m one of those people who feels like I have to be strong for those people who may not be able to find that strength. I feel like I have to speak up for those people whose voices go unheard. It was a really hard two hours, but at the same time, I made it home.”
Muhammad is the latest in an increasingly long list of athletes, coaches, and players’ associations to speak out against Trump’s ban, which is set to go before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals where a panel of judges will decide whether the temporary restraining order on the ban will stay or be lifted while lawsuits against the executive order proceed. Many NBA players and coaches have denounced the hastily executed order, and Eric Winston, union president of the NFL Players’ Association, said that the NFLPA stands firmly behind the league’s Muslim players.
The travel ban also affected U.S. wrestlers, when Iran, reacting to Trump’s order, said it would prohibit Americans from competing in the wrestling World Cup on Feb. 16-17. Iran then reversed the decision after a judge temporarily blocked the order.
SB Nation has reached out to Muhammad for comment and will update this post if we hear back.
See More:
