When Shireen Ahmed saw the sleek, silver Raptors’ logo on a hijab for the first time, she got chills. After learning of the release of the Toronto Raptors’ Nike Pro Hijab — announced Friday morning through a video on the team’s Twitter account — “the 12-year-old Shireen in me screamed with joy,” said Ahmed, a 42-year-old sportswriter, podcaster and longtime athlete. The Raptors-branded sports hijab, the first of its kind in the NBA, has been in the works since the playoffs this past spring, said Jerry Ferguson, senior director of marketing at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. The inspiration to release the hijab came from the Hijabi Ballers, Ferguson said, referring to a group of young Muslim women in Toronto who play basketball every Sunday, and advocate for increased participation of Muslim women in sports. “There was a story about them that came out during the playoffs in the Star talking about how we connect with our diverse group of fans, and that’s where the idea came from. We were very inspired by them,” Ferguson said. Hijabi Ballers helped to design the black hijab — which will be priced at $39.99 at Scotiabank Arena — and the group was featured front and centre in Friday’s launch video. The founder of Hijabi Ballers, Amreen Kadwa, said she’s happy with the end product, adding the Raptors were “amazing” in showcasing what the group was about. The Raptors’ support, Kadwa said, is “creating an atmosphere where girls who play basketball can do so with more confidence and more empowerment, and actually feel welcome in that space.” “It’s just the beginning of our relationship with the Raptors and with Nike,” Kadwa said. “And it can only move forward from here. We see a lot of potential for our partnership to grow.” In an interview in August, Raptors team president Masai Ujiri told the Star’s Bruce Arthur abou ...
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