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Jewish head coverings called kippot

Menora v. Illinois High School Association is a case heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit which centered on two Jewish schools which sued the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) when the IHSA would not let them compete in a basketball tournament unless student-athletes removed their kippot (examples pictured) from their heads during play. The schools argued that their First Amendment right of freedom of religion was violated. The IHSA stated that banning the kippot was reasonable because they could fall off during play, risking player injury. The Seventh Circuit held that no conflict would exist if the schools designed a head covering that was not a safety risk. The case was settled in June 1983, allowing kippot to be worn with contour clips. Legal scholars criticized the Seventh Circuit's false conflict approach in the decision as unsupported by precedent. American Jewish communities largely took it as a win that the students were allowed to play with kippot on. (Full article...)