(RepublicanPress.org) – From July 26 through August 11, 10,500 Olympic athletes will compete in Paris for the XXXIII Olympiad. Track and field, which includes a variety of events for both men and women, will be featured in the summer games. Recently, Nike revealed its Team USA uniform designs for these athletes, raising eyebrows.
On April 11, images of the track and field uniforms on mannequins were released, showing a revealing design for the women’s version. Side by side, the men’s and women’s were similar, but the bottoms were not. While the men’s uniform had form-fitting biker shorts that came nearly halfway down the thigh, the women’s had skimpy, high-cut briefs that barely covered the crotch area on the model.
Retired track athlete Lauren Fleshman was stunned, blasting the choice on social media. She said the “costume [was] born of patriarchal forces that are no longer welcome or needed” in women’s sports.
Fleshman went on to blast Nike, stating the design was “not an elite athletic kit for track and field.” She said the kit wasn’t made to benefit athletic performance; otherwise, “men would wear it.”. Others wondered aloud if female athletes were consulted on the design choice at all.
However, Olympic pole vault champion Katie Moon — who is also sponsored by Nike — stepped in to comment. She said the design “warranted the response,” but women didn’t have to wear the design shown on the mannequin.
Moon said there were at least 20 combinations to choose from, including those made for male athletes. She then tried the controversial uniform on to show it wasn’t revealing anything, suggesting the concerning look came from how it fit on the mannequin.
Nike executive John Hoke said the company worked directly with athletes to design the line, and another Nike spokesperson stated “not all looks and styles were featured” in the release.
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