U.S. shot putter Chase Jackson lamented the lack of inclusivity she experienced in her run-up to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
To prove her point, the sports champion opened up about a uniform mishap on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024.
She added that this was a common occurrence and said it was all too familiar.
Chase Jackson’s fans immediately came to her support and criticized the brands supplying the Olympic uniforms.
However, there is more to this story.
Read on to know everything about the Chase Jackson uniform controversy-
It is a common practice before the advent of any Olympic event for multiple clothing brands to sign up to lend their designs to the athletes.
The Paris 2024 Olympics is no different, with Ralph Lauren, SKIMS, and Nike all gifting athletes with uniform kits.
While some were praised for amalgamating rich cultural elements into their designs, some, like Lululemon, didn’t quite meet fan expectations and received flak for their brainless designs.
Chase Jackson, unlike her other athletic brethren, said that she could not wear most of the designer outfits.
Chase Jackson wrote in a story on her Instagram handle @chaseypoosp, which was later reposted on X,
“When you spend your first hour in Paris crying ’cause they didn’t give you anything in your size,”
The post soon caught the attention of both fans and the general public.
Many social media commentators derided the brands, and their ire was especially directed against Kim Kardashian’s brand, SKIMS, which loudly professed the importance of inclusivity in its promotions.
However, it seems that the uniforms were a mishap unrelated to inclusivity.
Amid the controversy, Chase wrote several more posts that clarified the situation.
Chase Jackson thanked her fans for their kind words and went on to clarify that she did receive the wrong uniforms because of her size but blamed the mishap on an “admin error” that was resolved by each brand.
Chase posted on her Instagram story,
“Just to be clear, all brands do have my size; it just wasn’t given to me originally, but I have it now. There was no exclusion or anything. It was just a super unfortunate logistical nightmare!”
Chase, in another Instagram story, did talk about her perceived mistreatment due to similar situations happening to her in the past.
She, however, said that this time it was not the case and was thankful for it.
She added that she is going to move on to sweeping another Olympic season.
Chase Jackson also said that she is ready to talk to anyone about it but her focus is right now on competing at the Olympics.
It is not the first time brands like Nike have been involved in controversies.
Nike faced a lot of flak earlier with its high-cut leotard design.
Many athletes were not happy with the brand.
When pictures of the men’s and women’s uniforms were released, critics accused Nike of sexism and prioritizing style over functionality, and many media outlets, like The Guardian, called the uniforms skimpy.
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