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Someone who she exercised with, had exchanged phone numbers with and become Facebook friends with.
So, why Ibtihaj Muhammad failed to reach out to Herman before publishing the social media post that upended her 30-year teaching career and forced her out of the community she's been apart of for decades, is beyond her, according to Herman's attorney, Erik Dykema, with The Lawfare Project.
According to a lawsuit filed against Muhammad, an Olympic fencer and non-profit Muslim group Cair, CAIR-NJ/its executive director, Muhammad blew a small misunderstanding out of proportion when she broadcast to the world that Herman had ripped a hijab off one of her Seth Boyden Elementary School student's heads last year.
Muhammad's post spread like wildfire, and she at no point made an effort to reach out to Herman for clarification on the issue, nor to apologize after the fact, Herman's lawyers say.
The lawsuit, filed this month in Union County Superior Court, says the Olympian maliciously and willfully posted false statements about Herman on social media, where she has a wide following.
As a result, Herman "suffered and continues to suffer from emotional and mental harm to such a degree that she has had no realistic choice but to permanently move out of her home and, prior to that, had to ask for police protection and temporarily relocate in the immediate aftermath of Defendants' lies," the lawsuit says.
The teacher maintained all along that the incident was a misunderstanding: She had asked the student to brush back her hood, but immediately took back the request when she realized the student was wearing a hood in place of her usual hijab.
Meanwhile, Herman and her ex-husband showed nothing but support for the Olympian, commenting three times on her Facebook page between 2016 and 2019, recognizing the significance of Muhammad’s achievements as a “Muslim female athlete”:
- On April 10, 2019, Herman wrote: “Go Ibtihaj! A Seth Boyden graduate and a Muslim female athlete who has amazing discipline, determination, and purpose in spite of soooo much adversity.”
- On May 5, 2019, Herman posted: “Go Ibty! A Seth Boyden student and Bronze medal in the Olympics!”
- On August 6, 2016, Herman’s then-husband posted about Muhammad: “Rooting for her! She works out at the local gym with my wife.”
In July 2018, Herman attended a reading at a local bookstore for Muhammad’s book, "Proud: My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream," the suit alleges. Herman has a signed copy of the book, which she has used in her classroom. She also had a poster of Muhammad displayed in the hallway outside her classroom on a special class bulletin board of character traits and accomplishments.
The class studied Muhammad as an example of perseverance, persistence, dedication, overcoming obstacles, overcoming adversity, and achieving excellence in spite of it all. Herman was a fan of Muhammad and repeatedly asked Muhammad to come speak to her students.
"Without ever seeking Herman’s version of the interaction with the Student—something Muhammad could have easily done, given the fact that they were friends on Facebook and that they had exchanged phone numbers—Muhammad heedlessly repeated and embellished the words of the mother of the Student, Cassandra Wyatt, whom she personally knew," the lawsuit reads.
"Muhammad’s posting of the mother’s report of what her 7-year-old said was reckless, as Muhammad knew that Herman was not Islamophobic and, to the contrary, repeatedly celebrated Muhammad’s Muslim heritage, and it is common knowledge that young children are not reliable reporters and can be easily manipulated."
The suit further says that CAIR's executive director tweeted that Herman should be fired from her job as a teacher and gave a defamatory interview on "Good Morning America."
CAIR-NJ declined to comment on the suit pending legal review, however, will "continue to strongly stand by this student, who had the clear constitutional right to cover her hair for religious reasons without physical interference or humiliation."
Muhammad's reps did not immediately return Daily Voice's request for comment placed Wednesday, Oct. 19.
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