Conservative men on X, formerly Twitter, lashed out after U.S. women's beach volleyball Olympians Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss opted to wear black leggings instead of bikini bottoms in their opening match against Canada.
Previously, women's beach volleyball players were required to wear bikini bottoms, with the International Olympic Committee mandating their skimpiness, specifying that the sides could not exceed 2.8 inches. These regulations were scrapped for the Paris Olympics, allowing athletes to compete in more modest leggings instead.
Additionally, the weather in Paris on the day of the competition was rainy and cooler than usual, making the decision to wear leggings a practical one.
But this angered conservative men who took this rather innocuous development very, very personally.
Others defended the players and called out critics' sexism.
Today, female athletes aren’t required to wear bikini briefs during competition. While two-piece outfits remain an option, athletes can also choose one-piece and short-sleeve tops. Full-length leggings and long-sleeve tops are allowed in cold weather or for religious reasons, and there are now two different length options for shorts.
These additional uniform options were introduced ahead of the 2012 London Olympics to encourage more countries to participate in the sport. Before then, women typically wore the standard bikini uniform.
The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), the sport’s governing body, implemented these changes to accommodate players from diverse backgrounds. FIVB spokesman Richard Baker noted in a 2012 interview that many countries "have religious and cultural requirements, so the uniform needed to be more flexible."
The FIVB sets specific measurements for each type of uniform. For instance, bikini bottoms must have a waistband no wider than 2.8 inches, and men's shorts cannot be longer than 3.9 inches above the knee.
The FIVB also requires that all uniforms have a more "tailored fit." Retired Olympic beach volleyball player Jennifer Kessy explained to TODAY that players' bathing suits "need to fit just right so they don’t move places we don’t want them to move."
