3 ms·

this is how female volleyball players dressed in 1980 - pre Acosta era. https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/gazette.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editor

this is how female volleyball players dressed in 1980 - pre Acosta era. https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/gazette.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d6/fd6a1e88-d75e-5b8d-8405-696a3ba0a1e2/5b334a3503041.image.jpg?crop=1269%2C1269%2C181%2C0&resize=1269%2C1269&order=crop%2Cresize https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/gazette.com/con... I can't see much difference with later periods. Acosta is the man that made volleyball the hugely popular sport it is today on screen, of course he wanted teams to be fashionable and appealing to the audience, just like I want my F1 cars to look beautiful and aggressive and the pilots to be all around cool people with the winner vibe. And that's why Formula-E it's not very popular: cars are ugly and slow and pilots are mostly former mid-low-never-won-a-race field drivers from other more important categories. But if some team for any reason developed an uniform a bit less fashionable, but that gave even the slightest advantage in terms of performances, competitors would have copied them verbatim in the blink of an eye. The best way to be sex appealing is winning.

OldGuyInTheClub 4y ago
He brought in the mandatory high-cut bikini bottoms for the women beach players as was described in the NYT article and many others. If you're defending Acosta and his notorious practices, we have nothing further to discuss.
- peoplefromibiza 4y ago
  The NYT article you mention is behind paywall. If you don't want to discuss nothing else than what you think it's the point of a discussion, it's fine by me, but I also believe it means you never had anything to add to the discussion in the first place. I am not a judge, I am simply a former mediocre sportsman, with some knowledge about the movement. Acosta left the federation in 2008, 15 years ago, the bikini in beach volley stayed though, even though it was never mandatory for anybody. Maybe we could ask Alix Klineman (look up who she is) why "Beach volleyball was a sport that was developed in Hawaii and Southern California and on the beaches of Rio. And you play, and it's hot, and then you go and jump in the water. One-piece bathing suits won't work, because the sand gets inside and chafes; in fact, the players say, the less material that can trap sand, the better." Ross and her partner Alix Klineman, who helped design their own uniforms, also said it's important that the straps don't restrict her movement or breathing. "For us, this is what feels most comfortable. You're not wearing more clothing in really hot weather; getting sand stuck in places is not fun. But I totally respect other people wanting to be more covered if that's what makes them more comfortable" I confess I believe her more than I believe some anonymous rando on the internet. I also believe she knows what she's talking about and has no hidden agenda to defend Acosta. Which neither have I anyway, I don't care if he is thrown in jail tomorrow, but it's undeniable he was the man that took volleyball from handball level of attention to a global prime time show, Athletes, every athlete, cares about the results of all the sacrifices made to arrive where they can prove themselves to the World. If playing naked gave them an advantage and they were allowed to, they would play naked. Their body is their ultimate weapon in that context, there's nothing to hide or be ashamed of in the minds of champions, when they are competing with other potential champions for victory. I am sure that if tennis player could, they would totally play shirtless.
  - OldGuyInTheClub 4y ago
    And I remember the mid-90s when many of the women athletes spoke against the uniform mandate. I'll defer to you on where volleyball is today. I lost interest in the early 2000s when the rules changes (also Acosta) took hold. I occasionally get a vb recommendation in my YT feed and will sometimes take a look. I get quickly tired of the endless service errors (mostly men's side) and the conventional high ball dominated play on the women's side. I'll grant you the Russia/Brazil Men's Gold Medal match from 2012 was an exception. If volleyball were truly popular, Acosta would be as well known as his counterparts in soccer.
    - peoplefromibiza 4y ago
      > And I remember the mid-90s when many of the women athletes spoke against the uniform mandate can you name some of them? out of many? I don't remember protests in the 90s, where uniforms were like this (this is Brasil 1996, aka the aforementioned baggy uniforms) https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9e/3b/4c/9e3b4c8f0d56fe0c10c34ce02d13bb3d--volleyball-shorts-sports-women.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9e/3b/4c/9e3b4c8f0d56fe0c10c34ce02... https://worldofvolley.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/unnamed-file-130.jpeg https://worldofvolley.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/unnamed... > I lost interest in the early 2000s when the rules changes That in reality happened in 1998, with the rally point system, the single biggest change in regulation in the history of volleyball. As a player I did not agree with it at first, but as a spectator it surely improved the appeal of the game. I was a referee in female volleyball in the 90s and I can't express the pain of the endless games where sometimes none of the two teams was able to make a spike attack or only a few players could. Now in junior leagues everyone jump serves. The level has never been so high. > If volleyball were truly popular If volleyball wasn't a very popular sport my fellow citizen Paola Egonu would not make a million euro/year at the age of 24 in female volleyball, in Italy.
      - OldGuyInTheClub 4y ago
        > can you name some of them? out of many? Nancy Reno and Angela Rock come to mind but I don't have access to all of the articles. It was all over Usenet news rec.sport.volleyball of the time. > That in reality happened in 1998, with the rally point system, the single biggest change in regulation in the history of volleyball. > As a player I did not agree with it at first, but as a spectator it surely improved the appeal of the game. Did not for me. It took a year or two for it to propagate into the US Collegiate game which I followed closely at the time. That along with the libero sealed the deal for me. > If volleyball wasn't a very popular sport I was referring to Acosta's scandal-ridden tenure which never got the ink since the sport is still fairly niche.

OldGuyInTheClub 4y ago

He brought in the mandatory high-cut bikini bottoms for the women beach players as was described in the NYT article and many others. If you're defending Acosta and his notorious practices, we have nothing further to discuss.

peoplefromibiza 4y ago
The NYT article you mention is behind paywall. If you don't want to discuss nothing else than what you think it's the point of a discussion, it's fine by me, but I also believe it means you never had anything to add to the discussion in the first place. I am not a judge, I am simply a former mediocre sportsman, with some knowledge about the movement. Acosta left the federation in 2008, 15 years ago, the bikini in beach volley stayed though, even though it was never mandatory for anybody. Maybe we could ask Alix Klineman (look up who she is) why "Beach volleyball was a sport that was developed in Hawaii and Southern California and on the beaches of Rio. And you play, and it's hot, and then you go and jump in the water. One-piece bathing suits won't work, because the sand gets inside and chafes; in fact, the players say, the less material that can trap sand, the better." Ross and her partner Alix Klineman, who helped design their own uniforms, also said it's important that the straps don't restrict her movement or breathing. "For us, this is what feels most comfortable. You're not wearing more clothing in really hot weather; getting sand stuck in places is not fun. But I totally respect other people wanting to be more covered if that's what makes them more comfortable" I confess I believe her more than I believe some anonymous rando on the internet. I also believe she knows what she's talking about and has no hidden agenda to defend Acosta. Which neither have I anyway, I don't care if he is thrown in jail tomorrow, but it's undeniable he was the man that took volleyball from handball level of attention to a global prime time show, Athletes, every athlete, cares about the results of all the sacrifices made to arrive where they can prove themselves to the World. If playing naked gave them an advantage and they were allowed to, they would play naked. Their body is their ultimate weapon in that context, there's nothing to hide or be ashamed of in the minds of champions, when they are competing with other potential champions for victory. I am sure that if tennis player could, they would totally play shirtless.
- OldGuyInTheClub 4y ago
  And I remember the mid-90s when many of the women athletes spoke against the uniform mandate. I'll defer to you on where volleyball is today. I lost interest in the early 2000s when the rules changes (also Acosta) took hold. I occasionally get a vb recommendation in my YT feed and will sometimes take a look. I get quickly tired of the endless service errors (mostly men's side) and the conventional high ball dominated play on the women's side. I'll grant you the Russia/Brazil Men's Gold Medal match from 2012 was an exception. If volleyball were truly popular, Acosta would be as well known as his counterparts in soccer.
  - peoplefromibiza 4y ago
    > And I remember the mid-90s when many of the women athletes spoke against the uniform mandate can you name some of them? out of many? I don't remember protests in the 90s, where uniforms were like this (this is Brasil 1996, aka the aforementioned baggy uniforms) https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9e/3b/4c/9e3b4c8f0d56fe0c10c34ce02d13bb3d--volleyball-shorts-sports-women.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9e/3b/4c/9e3b4c8f0d56fe0c10c34ce02... https://worldofvolley.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/unnamed-file-130.jpeg https://worldofvolley.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/unnamed... > I lost interest in the early 2000s when the rules changes That in reality happened in 1998, with the rally point system, the single biggest change in regulation in the history of volleyball. As a player I did not agree with it at first, but as a spectator it surely improved the appeal of the game. I was a referee in female volleyball in the 90s and I can't express the pain of the endless games where sometimes none of the two teams was able to make a spike attack or only a few players could. Now in junior leagues everyone jump serves. The level has never been so high. > If volleyball were truly popular If volleyball wasn't a very popular sport my fellow citizen Paola Egonu would not make a million euro/year at the age of 24 in female volleyball, in Italy.
    - OldGuyInTheClub 4y ago
      > can you name some of them? out of many? Nancy Reno and Angela Rock come to mind but I don't have access to all of the articles. It was all over Usenet news rec.sport.volleyball of the time. > That in reality happened in 1998, with the rally point system, the single biggest change in regulation in the history of volleyball. > As a player I did not agree with it at first, but as a spectator it surely improved the appeal of the game. Did not for me. It took a year or two for it to propagate into the US Collegiate game which I followed closely at the time. That along with the libero sealed the deal for me. > If volleyball wasn't a very popular sport I was referring to Acosta's scandal-ridden tenure which never got the ink since the sport is still fairly niche.