Paris Olympics: Despite Unanimous Hatred, Nike’s Team USA Outfits Get Olympian Katie Moon’s Support

With the Paris Olympics only a few months away, Nike’s plans to make the USA track and field athletes stand out from others were revealed only hours ago. However, the apparel giant’s high hopes have been met with a severe backlash from fans and athletes who just didn’t feel the vibe. Amid this, it looks like Olympic gold medalist Katie Moon has a different take on the matter.

Nike has been the provider of the national team’s uniforms for USA Track and field since 1991. And yet, the long history didn’t seem to hold a candle for the general overview of the new fit. But Katie Moon isn’t having any of it.

In her latest Instagram post, Moon took some time to highlight the brighter takeaways from the whole fiasco. She has the opinion that the flack, albeit warranted, isn’t taking into consideration that the women athletes of the country may have opted for the designs themselves, among multiple other choices.

“I want to be clear and start by saying that what was shown on the mannequin was concerning”, she didn’t try to brush aside the mass opinion on the new uniforms. But urging Nike to just take a cue from the men’s uniform design for the women’s jerseys didn’t sit well with her. She noted that the women athletes were given the choice from 20 different combinations and it was the general consensus taken by themselves to run with that design.

“We Do have the men’s option available to us if we want it”, revealed Moon without beating around the bush. “You’re ultimately attacking our decision to wear it,” wrote Moon. And still, even she couldn’t ignore the obvious problems that are right there in the fore. While Katie holds the opinion that it’s “pretty offensive” to see the backlash surrounding the outfit, most others seem to decry the designs to the best of their abilities.

The community is still not on board

Nike’s association with the USA team has been staggering. In 2014, the company extended its sponsorship of the USA Track & Field team for an additional 23 years. With that, Nike became the exclusive apparel sponsor of the team at the World Championships and Olympics through 2040. USA Track & Field CEO Max Siegel had told back then, “This new deal is a game-changer for the sport and what USATF will be able to offer all our constituents.” But that did not seem to have happened this time.

Nike’s sneak peek into their latest design for the upcoming Olympics was bashed with severe “sexist” allegations. “What man designed the woman’s cut?“, commented fans yesterday when Citius Mag took the responsibility to share the new men’s and women’s uniforms with the nation. Notably, it was Sha’Carri Richardson who unveiled the new outfit. Even that did not pacify the outrage. Although the athletes will have the option to wear compression shorts at the Olympics, the high cut of the women’s uniforms didn’t seem to find the support that Nike was hoping for.

“This is a costume born of patriarchal forces“, former track and field athlete Lauren Fleshman didn’t hold back either. It remains to be seen if the outfit that came to the limelight yesterday goes on to the final product that adorns Team USA members at the French capital in July.