Demands are growing louder for the government to pass the CROWN Act after a viral video showed a Black girl being forced to remove beads from her braids in order to participate in a sporting competition.
The video posted online earlier this week appears to show a young Black athlete inside of a circle of teammates, coaches, and others, who are tearing beads off of her braids. According to reports, the alarming scene took place because a judge said the student-athlete wouldn't be able to compete in a power lifting competition if the beads weren't removed.
The incident is reigniting calls to get the landmark anti-hair discrimination bill onto President Joe Biden's desk to possibly prevent any other Black person from having to alter their hair to participate at work, school, and more.
The CROWN Act passed in the House but remains stalled in the Senate where it must first pass before heading to Biden's desk for final signature. Some individual states have already passed the law that prohibits hair discrimination in employment and school settings.
This isn't the first time a young Black girl has had to make major last-minute alterations to her hair. In Durham, North Carolina last year, 15-year-old Nicole Pyles had to cut her braids off completely in order to avoid forfeiting a softball game. Pyles had played in and helped win four games before an umpire told her she'd need to cut the braids, after an opposing team's coach opened the rule book.
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