Time To End The Double Standard In Uniforms For Athletes

You may have already heard about the fine levels against the women's beach handball team for Norway. Instead if wearing the mandated bikini bottoms, they chose to wear shorts, and each player on the team was fined 150 euros (for a team total of 1500 euros) by the European Handball Federation.

Singer Pink said she would pay all the fines. Good for her. But why must the women wear bikini bottoms? The men play in shorts -- why can't the women? Are they trying to sell sex or a sport?

This is not the only sport requiring sexy uniforms for women, but not for men -- and it's time for it to stop in all sports.

I am an avid fan of both men's and women's sports, and I don't watch them because of the kind of uniforms they wear in either. I only care about how well the sport is being played, and who wins. I think most other sports fans are the same. Athletes should be allowed to wear any kind of uniform they want (as long as it doesn't give them an unfair advantage over the other athletes).

The following is from Ivanka Saric and Ina Fried at Axios.com:

Female Olympians in Tokyo are rejecting the uniforms that have long defined their sports, highlighting a double standard that exists how women dress in competition vs. men. 

Driving the news: During their qualifying round Sunday, Germany's women's gymnastics team wore full-length unitards, eschewing the conventional leg-barring leotards worn by most female gymnasts.

• Earlier this week Norway's women's beach handball team was fined for wearing shortsinstead of the required bikini bottoms during a match.

Between the lines: The German Gymnastics Federation said the new uniforms were meant to push back "against sexualization in gymnastics."

• “It's about what feels comfortable,” three-time Olympian Elisabeth Seitz told reporters in Tokyo. “We wanted to show that every woman, everybody, should decide what to wear."
• The Norwegian Olympians highlighted the double standard for female athletes.
• "I don’t see why we can’t play in shorts,” said Norwegian player Martine Welfler. "With so much body shaming and stuff like that these days, you should be able to wear a little bit more when you play."
• Australian athletes voiced support for the Norweigians' move. "It is so much easier to focus on your performance... when you do not have to worry about whether your bikini bottom has ridden up in an unflattering way… or what angle a photographer might be able to capture you on,” Australian beach handball player Rose Boyd told The Feed.

State of play: Double standards between male and female athletes often come down to aesthetics and convention, rather than necessity.

• Male gymnasts typically compete in shorts or loose pants, while female gymnasts are typically seen sporting bikini-cut leotards, even as many prefer to train wearing shorts, notes the New York Times.
• While no rules bar female gymnasts from wearing long unitards in competition, they remain niche, often worn by athletes for religious reasons, per the Times.
• The International Handball Federation permits male beach handball players to wear shorts as long as four inches above their knees as long as they are "not too baggy," much like the ones the Norwegian women's team wore last week. 
• Yet the IHF requires women to wear bikini bottoms "with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg" that are no longer than four inches on the sides.

The Best And Worst Dressed Olympians

One of the best parts of any Olympics is the Parade of Nations in the Opening Ceremonies. I love to see all the nations marching in supposedly decked out in their best to impress the world. Of course, being a bit of a curmudgeon, I like to judge how well the countries dressed their athletes. So, this year I'm giving out awards. Here's what I think (and feel free to disagree in the comments section).

BEST UNIFORMS -- Germany

These uniforms just look good, and they made the athletes look good. German officials said the rainbow uniforms were not a political statement. I don't know if I really believe that, but I like them.

UGLIEST UNIFORMS -- UNITED STATES

I'm sorry, but these sweaters are just plain ugly, and these uniforms were by far the ugliest uniforms of any country. If this is the best that Ralph Lauren can do, maybe it's time for him to retire.

BEST (HONORABLE MENTION) -- IRELAND, LITHUANIA, NETHERLANDS, SLOVENIA

The uniforms of these countries weren't in a class with Germany, but they looked good and made their athletes look good.

MOST INAPPROPRIATE -- BERMUDA

I know this island nation is proud of their shorts, and in a Summer Games they are kind of neat. But this is winter -- in Russia -- and it's cold. The shorts weren't appropriate, and looked downright silly.

BEST HATS -- CZECH REPUBLIC

Call me crazy if you want, but I like these hats. They not only look good, but look like they could keep a person warm in a cold Russian winter.

WORST HATS -- KRYGYZSTAN

What the hell! I think anyone would be embarrassed to wear such a silly thing.

MOST BORING -- ARGENTINA

These uniforms were an ugly brown color, and had no adornment of any kind. I would show them to you, but they were so boring that no photographer even bothered to take a picture of them (and believe me, you aren't missing anything).

That's my opinion. What's yours?

Could They Be Any Uglier ?

We're only about two weeks away from that special event that rolls around every couple of years -- the Olympic Games. This time it's the Winter Olympic Games. I must admit, I love both the winter and summer games -- and I'm looking forward to this years event. The Olympics are the only time that all countries meet in a peaceful way, and compete on a fair and friendly basis. Personally, I think that's more important than which country gets the most medals.

A couple of days ago, the uniforms to be worn in the opening and closing ceremonies by American athletes were displayed. And personally, I believe designer Ralph Lauren has once again embarrassed himself and the country. Last summer, it was because he had the uniforms made by a sweatshop in China. He fixed that this year, but the uniforms he designed are just incredibly ugly -- looking more like an ugly christmas sweater than an athletic uniform to be worn with pride.

I'm beginning to wonder if Ralph Lauren has "jumped the shark". Maybe it's time the Olympic Committee looked for a new designer.

The London Olympics Kicks Off

I like to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and critique the way each country has dressed its athletes. And what picture could be better for such a post than one having fashion mavens Edina and Patsy (from the hilarious British comedy Absolutely Fabulous). And true to character, we have Patsy lighting a cigarette (joint?) from the Olympic torch (picture above).

It's always interesting to see how the countries dress their athletes for the ceremonies. Some go for fashion and others go for a traditional national costume. Listed below are the countries I considered to be the best in this category and those who were the worst. The United States didn't fall into either category this year. Their Ralph Lauren-designed (and Chinese-made) uniforms were rather ordinary -- except for the berets, which were downright silly looking.

I first want to say that NBC did a very poor job of covering the parade of nations. They spent far too much time going to commercials, and when they came back just gave quick snapshots of the countries that had entered while they were making money on commercials. Even when they were showing the countries entering, the camera spent far too much time on the flag-bearer and not enough time showing the athletes. NBC should be ashamed of their coverage.

But I was still able to see some good and a lot of bad. Here are my choices for the best and worst dressed athletes in the opening ceremonies. If you disagree, I'd love for you to comment.

BEST

American Samoa -- They chose traditional dress, but did it in very nice shades of brown and gold. It looked very good.

Belarus -- These athletes wore white suits and hats. That may not sound exciting, but they made it look very classy.

Cameroon -- These athletes wore traditional African dashikis of black, red, and yellow. It was striking and beautiful.

North Korea -- They were dressed in dark suit coats, gray pants/skirts, and red ties. Clean & sharp.

Finland -- I normally don't like sweat suits in the opening ceremonies, but Finland did this well. The tops were an abstract design of black and white, and the pants were white. It was informal and classy at the same time.

Grenada -- They wore dark green sports jackets over light green shirts and black pants/skirts. Nice.

Italy -- The Italians wore nicely tailored dark blue suits with striped ties. The Italians just know how to make a suit look good.

Japan -- I normally hate red sports coats, but the Japanese were able to make them look good. They wore them over white shirts and pants/skirts.

Latvia -- They also did red and white, but the red was a darker shade. The women wore white jackets over red skirts, while the men wore red jackets over white pants.

Mali -- They were dressed in completely white dashikis. It made a very striking appearance.

WORST

Bermuda -- I realize they are famous for Bermuda shorts, but black sports coats over red shorts was just appalling.

Canada -- Tan pants with red jackets, and the jackets had a big white stripe on the front with the word "Canada" written on it. The Canadians didn't even try for a fashionable look.

China -- Red sports coats with yellow trim. I know those are the colors of their flag, but they are not colors that should ever be put together on a sports coat. They looked cheap.

Cuba -- Bright yellow sports coats and black pants/skirts. They looked like walking road signs.

Czech Republic -- The white shorts and dark jackets might have been passable, if they had not been worn with shiny blue boots. Atrocious.

Germany -- They usually look good, but the pink jackets for the women and blue jackets for the men, worn over white, just didn't work. Disappointing.

Guyana -- Bright yellow suits with red ties. Looked like a group of smiley faces with red ties. Awful.

Mexico -- Each athlete was dressed differently in loud colors and designs. Extremely gaudy.

Spain -- More mixing of red and yellow, and it didn't work any better for Spain than it did for China.

Great Britain -- This was perhaps the most disappointing. You expect the host nation to look good, and the Brits usually do. But they looked awful this time, with ugly white jackets made even uglier by large gold collars. And some athletes wore shots while others wore pants stopping just below the knee. Unbelievably ugly.

That's what I think. If you watched the opening ceremonies, I'd love to know what you think. Am I on target or off base?

The USOC Changes Its Tune On Uniforms

The other day it was learned that the designer of the American uniforms for the opening and closing London Olympic ceremonies, Ralph Lauren, had the uniforms made in a Chinese sweat shop -- instead of made by American garment workers. A lot of people were upset about that (including me), but the U.S. Olympic Committee tried to play it off as unimportant.

But the USOC had obviously underestimated the firestorm this had created. Now they have come to their senses. They announced that while it was too late for anything to be done this year (since the uniforms are being handed out this week in London), they will not make the same mistake in the future. They said they have had discussions with Ralph Lauren (who will be designing the uniforms through 2020) and all American uniforms in the future will be made in the United States by American workers -- starting with the Winter Olympic uniforms in 2014.

The USOC chief executive officer said, "We take seriously the concerns we've heard from members of Congress and the American public regarding the U.S. Olympic Team's Opening and Closing ceremonies uniforms. . . With athletes having already arrived in London, and the apparel distribution process beginning this weekend, we are unfortunately not able to make a change for London. We are absolutely committed, however, to working with our sponsors to ensure that the concerns voiced are addressed."

The Ralph Lauren company also addressed the situation saying, "Ralph Lauren promises to lead the conversation within our industry and our government addressing the issue of increasing manufacturing in the United States and has committed to producing the Opening and Closing ceremony Team USA uniforms in the United States that will be worn for the 2014 Olympic Games."

I'm glad both the USOC and Ralph Lauren have finally realized what a serious mistake they made -- and rectified it. But simple common sense should have told them this in the first place.

New Rangers Uniforms

These are the new uniforms for the Texas Rangers 2009 season. The red uniforms will be worn on opening day and for every Saturday game throughout the season. There will also be a "red-out" weekend. The team has also dumped the ugly blue shoes and belts. Both will now be black. All in all, I think the new uniforms are an improvement.

TSA Gets New Uniforms

Today marks a change in airports all over the country. Today the Airport Screeners will begin wearing their new uniforms. Oops, I forgot. We're supposed to call them Transportation Security Administration Officers now. They were insufferable enough in their old uniforms. I can imagine what they'll be like now that they're dressed like police officers.

The federal security director at DFW Airport said, "On September 11th , every officer will begin wearing their new uniform and badge. TSA is introducing uniforms more reflective of the critical nature of their work and of the high standards our officers must uphold to keep over 2 million passengers safe every day."

I just don't buy it. These are SCREENERS, not peace officers. When a peace officer is needed or an arrest must be made, the police are called and that's as it should be. I don't have a problem with these people screening luggage and passengers, but I don't see why they must be dressed as something they're not.

I think our Republican leaders would be happy to put all federal employees in nice shiny uniforms to fit their impending police state.