Having a respected volleyball career has been a dream for many young men and women across the nation. Only the best send their high school teams to championships, play for good colleges, and go on to play for the Olympic National Team. The men and women you see on the beach and on the court, have worked extremely hard so that they could excel in volleyball. These are the men and women who are representing our country. They are some of the best players in the world.
However, there is a difference between how fans watch women's indoor volleyball, compared to men's indoor volleyball. In men's indoor volleyball, the men usually wear gym shorts, and the women wear spandex shorts. Now let me ask you this, are you watching them play because of their shorts? As strange as this question may be, it actually exposes an ugly truth about how some fans watch volleyball. The men's shorts are loose fitting, and easy to move around in. Could you imagine one of these guys wearing spandex shorts? That would be very uncomfortable. For women's indoor volleyball, though, spandex shorts are comfortable and form fitting. This form fitting material allows the players to move around freely, and prevents them from overheating.
While these women are wearing their countries uniforms, and are competing for a gold medal, fans are not focusing on the game. Instead, they are focusing on the player's spandex shorts, and how nice the women's butts look in them. This was very clear after a video of Winifer Fernandez, a Dominican Republic volleyball player, became viral on many social media platforms. The video contains moments when Winifer's butt is sticking out of her spandex, and dives that cause her spandex to ride up. While many are labeling her as, "the most beautiful girl in volleyball", they are only looking at her body.
There fans are not watching her actually play in the Olympics, they are not watching her make amazing saves, and they are not praising her game. She is an Olympic athlete who fought all her life to play professional volleyball. As this video goes viral, do you think half of the people watching know that she won Best Libero, Best Digger, and Best Receiver with her club team, or that she has been to an FIVB World Cup and FIVB World Grand Prix? This all gets overlooked because her body has become the focus. Now some may say that she should wear longer shorts, and that she does this for attention. I agree that if a player is not fitting into their spandex, they should simply get another pair or stop rolling them. However, I have seen tons of fans in my life time comment on a female volleyball player's butt, even when it is completely covered. These women are not trying to look good for you. They want to win!
Incredible, amazing, and inspirational women have represented their country by playing Olympic volleyball. Women like Kerry Walsh Jennings and Alisha Glass, who have put their heart and soul into the sport, deserve to be honored based on their game. The women who make the Olympic Volleyball Team are the best in the world. They serve anywhere between 60 to 70 miles per hour, they are able to spike a ball past three blockers, who are usually over 6ft tall, and they break their bones to make magnificent saves. Respect the sport, and what volleyball offers young men and women, respect the players who train all season long to represent their country, and respect the women who have created legacies. Watch the game, not their spandex.
