Juashaunna Kelly

When Juashaunna Kelly is feeling stressed, anxious or worried, she goes running, and almost like magic her troubles slip away.

“Running, it makes me feel good,” she said. “I solve everything by running.”

Running can’t solve everything, unfortunately, for the senior who attends Theodore Roosevelt High School in Northwest Washington. Sometimes, it causes more problems than it solves. Back in January, Kelly was disqualified from the Montgomery Invitational track meet because of her uniform. In keeping with the teachings of Islam, Kelly, a Muslim, wears a spandex unitard that covers her arms, legs and head. The meet officials refused to allow her to compete because they said her clothing violated the rules of the National Federation of State High School Associations.

The ensuing uproar – the story appeared on the front page of The Washington Post and drew national attention – brought to the forefront the difficulties some athletes face when trying to follow their religious beliefs while competing in their sport.

Kelly, who converted to Islam when she was 5 years old, has kept her arms, legs and head covered ever since she started running in sixth grade. At first, she wore her jersey and shorts on top of the clothing she wore to school that day. But running in pants and a headscarf proved a challenge.

“The shirts that I wore under my uniform, they were big,” Kelly said. “When I ran, the wind would just blow and my scarf would sometimes slip back like it was going to come off and I would have to go like this [she puts her hand on top of her head]. . . . Running with pants, I can’t lift my legs or anything like I want to.”

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