Various sports associations have taken measures against the sexualization of female athletes. Before the Olympic Games in Paris, the largest sporting goods manufacturer in the world is making it clear that sexism in sport is still a problem.
Nike presented the Olympic collection for various countries at a fashion show in Paris.
Stephanie Lecocq / Reuters
At the US sporting goods manufacturer Nike, all control mechanisms must have failed. There is no other explanation for the design of the American track and field athletes’ competition clothing for the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
In Paris, the fashion capital, last week Nike presented the clothing that the American team will wear at the Summer Games. The track and field athletes’ dress caused a public outcry. The pink bodysuit has a low cut on the legs. Just like you know from the TV series Baywatch or aerobics videos from the 1990s. For men, however, Nike has, as usual, designed a sleeveless shirt and shorts.
Lauren Fleshman, the American 5,000 meter champion, summed it up on social media. She wrote: “Women should be able to do sports without having to worry that the most intimate parts of their bodies will be visible.” She called the outfit “disrespectful” and “absurd.” Many female athletes also felt that the clothing was completely unsuitable for competitive sports.
BREAKING: Here’s your first look at the new @Nike kits that will be worn by the U.S. track and field team at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. pic.twitter.com/XPWOnBrwsv
— CITIUS MAG (@CitiusMag) April 11, 2024
Nike defends itself with weak arguments
Numerous sports associations have recently relaxed clothing regulations and taken further measures. This often happened after protests from female athletes. The German gymnasts won the right to compete at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo with skin-colored suits under their gymnastics uniform. Last year, the Swiss Gymnastics Federation (STV) published guidelines for photographers to prevent lewd photos of athletes. If the media publish sensitive recordings, the STV will politely but firmly draw their attention to the misconduct.
Since 2012, beach volleyball players have been allowed to wear whatever they want. Unlike before, they are no longer required to wear a one-piece swimsuit or a bikini with a side width of no more than seven centimeters. Many players still compete in bikinis – but they do so out of choice and not out of compulsion.
Nike defends itself against the allegations by arguing that the Olympic clothing was designed in collaboration with the athletes. The women also have an alternative competition outfit with shorts available – so they can decide freely, the company said. These are weak excuses from the largest sporting goods manufacturer in the world. They don’t even begin to excuse the fashion mistake and certainly don’t solve the problem.
It’s surprising that no one at Nike questioned the design
The fact that Nike dares to present clothing like the US track and field uniform to the public shows, on the one hand, that the spirit of the times has passed the corporate headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. It should be clear to everyone by now that female athletes want attention for their athletic achievements and not for their appearance. At Nike, this message doesn’t seem to have reached Nike yet, even in 2024. It is surprising that no one in the large corporation with over 80,000 employees questioned the design.
At the same time, the pink bodysuit also shows that sexism is still widespread in sports dominated by male decision-makers. When scandals arise, such as the kiss of the Spanish association president Luis Rubiales after the Spanish footballers won the World Cup, people often talk about isolated cases and deny that there is a structural problem in sport. The fact that the so-called “individual cases” follow one another with unsightly regularity proves that this assessment is wrong.
The Nike clothing worn by track and field athletes is therefore more than just a fashion faux pas; it is sexist and discriminatory. And it is a throwback to old times characterized by machismo, which sport must finally overcome.