A Muslim athlete needed modest sportswear, now she sells it to others

Kiandra Browne had little interest in religion growing up in multicultural Montreal. But she did have a curious mind. "If you know Kiandra, you know she questions everything," her mother, Ms Sheryl White, said with a loving laugh.

- Billy Witz

PITTSBURGH - Kiandra Browne had little interest in religion growing up in multicultural Montreal. But she did have a curious mind. "If you know Kiandra, you know she questions everything," her mother, Ms Sheryl White, said with a loving laugh.

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Ms Browne, then a high school senior with a lot of time to think, began to consider the question of faith.

Soon, she was peppering a Muslim friend with questions about Islam. As Ms Browne, who ultimately converted to Islam, peeled back pages of the Quran, she found that many of the messages resonated with her, particularly in relation to her basketball ambitions.

The structure and discipline that are required - stopping for prayer five times each day, fasting during the holy month of Ramadan - echo the commitment demanded of an elite athlete. The concept of sisterhood and setting aside her ego mirrored the fabric of a team sport.

"As somebody who already had a very disciplined lifestyle, Islam just made sense," she said.

But as she dived deeper into the religion, she was presented with a conflict: Women's basketball uniforms, with their shorts and tank tops, did not conform with stricter Islamic standards of modesty. But revealing less of her body by wearing a hijab - a head scarf - along with baggy pants and loose-fitting long-sleeve shirts presented its own conundrum on the basketball court.

"You kind of feel like you're wearing a garbage bag," she said.