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U.S. Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad said she was recently asked to remove her hijab during a popular event.
In a series of tweets Saturday, Muhammad said a South by Southwest employee asked her to remove her hijab for an ID photo. Muhammad said she was also given the wrong ID badge shortly thereafter.
Muhammad, who wears the hijab for religious purposes, will be the first U.S. Olympic athlete to wear a hijab during competition in the 2016 Summer Olympics. She's also the first Muslim woman to compete for the U.S. national team in fencing.
Muhammad was in attendance to speak at a SXSW presentation called "The New Church: Sport as Currency of American Life."
After her "crappy experience checking in," SXSW officials said they personally apologized to Muhammad and released a statement, saying:
"It is not our policy that a hijab or any religious head covering be removed in order to pick up a SXSW badge. This was one volunteer who made an insensitive request and that person has been removed for the duration of the event."
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