The lack of bikini-clad beach volleyball athletes at the Paris Olympics on Saturday is sending some social media users into a meltdown.
“I waited 4 years for fucking PANTS?!!?!??!??! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH” bemoaned one X user who posted a screenshot from Saturday’s beach volleyball opener in which the U.S. beat Canada.
“lost million of viewers,” reads the post’s top reply.
“so they arent showing their asses now, whats the point of watching..” replied someone else.
The concern, though, is over a decade old. In 2012, female beach volleyball Olympic athletes were no longer required to wear bikinis, though many chose to out of comfort.
“We’ve gotten a lot of athletes on record saying they prefer to wear a two-piece because there are less places for sand to hide,” a spokesperson for USA Volleyball told USA Today in 2016. “They don’t view it as swim wear or anything like a fashion statement. For them, that’s their uniform.”
But in Paris on the day of the match, temperatures were in the 60s and rainy—not exactly bikini weather.
It’s not the first time athletes have opted to wear attire with more coverage.
In 2012, some beach volleyball competitors wore pants and long-sleeved shirts due to cooler weather. And when Egypt’s team made their debut in 2016, all the women wore modest clothing and hijabs.
While forgoing a bikini is not a new option, the U.S. and Canada’s decision to do so on Saturday is nonetheless spurring all sorts of rage online, although a number of posts are satirical.
“Wtf is this liberal bullshit,” one person asked before escalating into a series of offensive comments.
“They’ll show gay man’s ball sack in front of children but they cover up the beach volleyball girls? Worst Olympics in history,” remarked someone else, referencing the incorrect claim that a testicle was visible during the Olympic opening ceremony.
“Yeah this is bullshit I won’t be watching anymore,” concurred someone else.
Plenty of other commenters, however, were supportive of the move.
“If it doesn’t affect their performance, I think being modest whilst on the world stage is good actually,” said one person.
“I’m happy to see the sport desexualized,” agreed someone else.
Beach volleyball is not the first women’s sport to generate headlines over its athletes’ attire.
During the Tokyo Olympics, the German gymnastics team donned unitards instead of leotards in protest of the sport being sexualized. And a Norwegian beach handball team—though not an Olympic sport—spurred controversy after it was fined for protesting bikini requirements by wearing shorts instead.
But the U.S. decision to wear pants on Saturday appeared to be purely a practical move and not any political statement. They were back in their standard bikini outfit on Sunday, continuing their winning streak against the Czech Republic.
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