So what’s really the issue here?
To the Editor:
As a member of the Guilderland girls’ track team, I was reminded of the current dress code at our school. With the weather turning warmer, it was important for athletes to know that they cannot wear sports bras alone. “Cropped running tanks” were OK, but only with a bra worn underneath, and wearing a sports bra, even on hot days, would be breaking the rules.
This led me to really contemplate the difference between a cropped tank and a sports bra. Coverage I assumed at first, so my mother bought me an athletic crop top online so we could compare. In terms of coverage, the crop top is the same length as all of the sports bras between myself and my two sisters, and the fabric on the sports bras is thicker and more supportive.
So what’s really the issue here? A perceived risk of distracting other students? If that is the case, it seems to me that the rights of said distracted students should not outweigh the rights of athletes to allow for comfort and increased surface area for the body to cool.
If students and/or staff members are distracted or uncomfortable with a female student running in a sports bra, or a male student running shirtless, then isn’t really the onus on the person feeling distracted? Isn’t it also distracting currently for staff to try to assess whether a student is wearing a crop running top or a sports bra?
Obviously, wearing a sports bra alone would not be a good idea across all sports. But please give us a policy that gives us options, makes sense, and is fair.
Angelica Sofia Parker
Ninth grader
Guilderland
High School
Editor’s note: Angelica Sofia Parker’s mother, Blanca Gonzales-Parker, is a member of the Guilderland School Board.
As a father and grandfather of girls, who is familiar with this article of clothing, I agree 100% with the position both of the Guilderland 9th grade athletes have taken on this subject. The controversy over sports bras has been going on for years, and it just doesn't make sense. There is nothing immodest, improper or revealing about them. They are more shirt than bra. Is it the word "bra" that gets people flustered?
It has always seemed to me that the issue could have been avoided if a smarter marketing strategy had been employed. Maybe something utilizing a play on the words "sport" and "support", and calling it a shirt instead of a bra, would calm the nerves of the [selectively] puritanical arbiters of schools' policies.