The volunteer was relieved of duty and SXSW organizers apologized. The incident didn't come up during the visit, which instead focused on Muhammad's road to Rio.

"I will be this summer be the first Muslim woman to represent Team USA while wearing the hijab," she said.

"That is fantastic!" Ellen exclaimed. "Do you know how important that is?"

Muhammad always enjoyed sports and got into fencing in high school.

"With each sport my mom always had to alter the uniform for me by adding long sleeves or pants," she recalled. The fencing uniform, on the other hand, needed no such changes.

"It was always very important for my mom to keep me active," Muhammad said. "She saw how excited I was to be in sports. She wanted me to do that while observing the hijab."

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Managing Partner at Atlantica Properties, Darion Dunn (center) talks with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens during a tour following the ribbon cutting of Waterworks Village as part of the third phase of the city’s Rapid Housing Initiative on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025.
(Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez