Grapevine-Colleyville ISD denies Muslim sports competition use of school
Grapevine-Coffeyville ISD ended negotiations with a national nonprofit Muslim athletics competition for use of a high school to host the games after a public outcry from Texas politicians.
The Islamic Games athletic event was scheduled at Colleyville Heritage High School on May 9-10. The organization was in negotiations for a rental agreement with the school district.
But over the weekend, state lawmakers and local leaders posted on social media that the organization’s sponsors had ties to the Council on American Islamic Relations, which Gov. Greg Abbott designated a foreign terrorism organization in November.
The school district told the Star-Telegram in a statement that officials learned Monday “that an organization listed as a sponsor of the Islamic Games in North Texas has been declared a Terrorist Organization by the Governor of Texas.” The district spokesperson said state law bars any governmental entity from entering into a contract with such a group.
“Thus, GCISD provided notice that it is severing the negotiations for the use of District properties for the 2026 Islamic Games,” the spokesperson said.
Despite numerous attempts, the Star-Telegram could not immediately reach the organizers of Islamic Games for comment.
What is the Islamic Games?
According to its website, Islamic Games is a “premier Muslim sports and athletic event in North America, dedicated to promoting physical excellence, unity, and community development” to youth. It started in 1989 in Queens, New York. In 2006, the games were rebranded and relaunched in New Jersey.
The program is geared towards leagues, Islamic centers, sports academies, organizations and Muslim schools.
The games travel from city to city hosting competitive team and individual sports that include boys and girls soccer, tennis, basketball, volleyball, cricket, flag football, track and field and archery.
Other locations hosting competitions this year include Chicago, Houston, Michigan, New Jersey, Los Angeles and Washington D.C.
What’s the controversy?
On Monday, state representatives began to post online about the Colleyville school being the location of an Islamic Games event, stating that sponsors are tied to CAIR.
When Abbott declared CAIR a foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organization on Nov. 18, he accused the civil rights group of wanting to “forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world.’”
CAIR called the designation defamatory and sued Abbott.
Sameeha Rizvi, a CAIR Texas civic engagement organizer, said that this is happening more frequently because hate is a “million-dollar industry” that not only impacts Muslims, but also Black and Latino Texans.
“Don’t let this moment isolate you and make you feel that you can’t do anything,” Rizvi said. “Because there is much to be done, and right now with the opportunity we have to make a change in all facets, in civic engagement especially.”
This year, the Texas Legislature adopted two bills that make the terrorism designation significant. SB-17 bans transnational criminal organizations from purchasing and acquiring land, and HB-4211 bans residential property developments like EPIC City, a large community proposed by an Islamic group near Dallas.
Keller Mayor Armin Mizani, who is running for Texas House District 98, denounced the Islamic Games in a press release Tuesday. He cited the 2022 hostage standoff at a Colleyville synagogue. “And now a high school campus just down the road will be the site of an event sponsored by alleged terror supporters.”
Two weeks ago, Mizani had proposed that Keller formally reject sharia law. The City Council approved a modified declaration instead that affirmed that the Constitution and Texas law “are the sole sources of legal authority.”
‘Muslims are like the political football’
Mustafaa Carroll, executive director of the DFW chapter of CAIR, told the Star-Telegram that recent headlines show anti-Muslim rhetoric is on the rise.
“So, today Muslims are like the political football that people kick around when they’re trying to get elected or when they’re trying to do something that they want to do, most of it is political,” Carroll said. “Greg Abbott called CAIR a foreign terrorist or whatever, and we are neither foreign nor terrorists. We live here, we are from here, and we do all the work we do is here.”
Texas Reps. Jared Patterson of District 106 and Cole Hefner of District 5 were sponsors of HR 971, a resolution that declared CAIR unwelcome at the Texas Capitol. They posted on social media about the Islamic Games in Colleyville.
“As a joint-author of HR 971, I fought at the Capitol to make it clear that CAIR is not welcome in Texas,” Hefner said in a social media post. “I am calling on GCISD to immediately cut ties with these sponsors and put student safety, community values, and national security ahead of political correctness.”
Patterson said in a statement that he is urged GCISD to cancel the event.
“All independent school districts and taxpayer funded organizations must completely sever ties with organizations linked terrorism permanently,” Patterson said.
This story was originally published January 20, 2026 at 4:57 PM.