(NJ.com) The New Jersey teacher who faced a criminal investigation after an Olympian repeated allegations she pulled a hijab off a child’s head has filed a lawsuit claiming the social media-fueled firestorm ruined her teaching career and led to threats on her life.
Tamar Herman, a veteran teacher with the South Orange-Maplewood School District, says in court papers she was placed on administrative leave, had to move out of her home and required police protection after Ibtihaj Muhammad wrote about the hijab accusation on social media.
Muhammad, a 2016 Olympic medalist in fencing and a Maplewood resident, wrote on social media in October 2021 that a teacher at Seth Boyden Elementary School in Maplewood “forcibly removed the hijab of a second-grade student,” according to court documents.
