U.S. fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, who is set to become the first American to compete in a hijab at the Olympics, was asked by a SXSW volunteer to remove her hijab for an ID badge photo and later received an apology for the request from SXSW officials Saturday.
“It is not our policy that a hijab or any religious head covering be removed in order to pick up a SXSW badge,” SXSW said in a media statement. “This was one volunteer who made an insensitive request and that person has been removed for the duration of the event.