Nike Gets Flak For Showing Too Much ‘Hoo Haa’ In ‘Athlete-Informed’ USA Uniform
Sha’Carri Richardson represents Team USA. Image via Nike
Nike is facing fashion hurdles so high that they cut a little above the crotch. Its recent rollout of the new Olympic uniforms for the USA women’s track and field team has been deemed by many—athletes included—to be too revealing and potentially uncomfortable.
The attire in question is a bodysuit for female athletes that features a significant leg rise, raising concerns about how it might perform during high-movement events.
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The sportswear giant has said that its kits this year are the “most athlete-informed, data-driven and visually unified the company has ever produced.”
“To create each kit, Nike design teams started with the voice of the athlete, obsessing every detail,” shares the brand. Alas, the high-cut track attire still managed to invite jokes from Olympians and Paralympians.
Men can worry about their athletic performance while women have to worry about chaffing, their genitals not falling out and getting a bikini wax
— Magi (@_A__Stranger) April 12, 2024
Definitely equal opportunities huh
Why did they bother to create clothes for the women at all? Just hand her some dental floss.
— Jennifer 🟥🔴🧙♀ï¸ðŸ¦‰ðŸˆâ¬› 🦖 (@babybeginner) April 12, 2024
Olympic hurdler Queen Harrison Claye jokingly addressed to the European Wax Center: “would you like to sponsor Team USA for the upcoming Olympic Games?”
“Wait, my hoo haa is gonna be out,” commented Olympic long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall.
“My labia fighting for which one gets to be in the suit,” said one user under an Instagram post by Citius Mag.
“When you run out of fabric after designing the men’s kit,” lamented another. One person said Nike was “beating around the bush.”
Athing Mu represents Team USA Track & Field. Image via Nike
Former runner Lauren Fleshman took to social media, calling the uniform a product of “patriarchal forces” and questioning its suitability for the sport.
“If this outfit was truly beneficial to physical performance, men would wear it. This is not an elite athletic kit for track and field. This is a costume born of patriarchal forces that are no longer welcome or needed to get eyes on women’s sports,” Fleshman added.
US steeplechaser Colleen Quigley shared with Reuters that the outfits were “absolutely not made for performance.”
On the flip side, Katie Moon, a 2020 Tokyo Olympics pole vaulter, has tried on the unitard and says she’s experienced no indecent exposure, though she acknowledges that “every body is different.”
If this can help put women’s minds at ease a bit…I tried on the same style today and didn’t feel worried about…things…popping out. I think it’s just the mannequin. This felt like the last kit just a slightly higher cut. I know every body is different tho so just my take 🤗 pic.twitter.com/BVAciryExy
— Katie Moon (@ktnago13) April 11, 2024
In response, Nike defends that this is just one of 50 designs prepared for the Games, and that “not all looks and styles” from the collection were featured in its presentation at the Nike On Air experience in Paris, a spokesperson tells NPR.
Nike’s vice president of apparel innovation, Janett Nichol, reassures the public (via CBS Sports) that the uniforms are designed to “perform at the highest level,” backed by comprehensive athlete input and feedback.
The brand says it is also offering custom tailoring services for athletes to ensure all wearers feel supported and confident in their competitive attire.
The United States Track and Field (USATF) seconds this response, outlining that athlete choices and preferences were prioritized during the uniform’s planning and development stages.
[via Yahoo News, Reuters, Diet Prada, Canadian Running Magazine, images via various sources]
