6 Controversial Beach Volleyball Headlines Edit

Spanking For Luck & More
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Spanking For Luck! - Made apparent by U.S. President Bush as this photo shows, is the beach volleyball tradition for players to slap one another’s behinds after a successful point. It’s good to be President!

Is Beach Volleyball Really A Sport? - What? It’s in the Olympics. It has to be a sport, right? Slate.com argues that beach volleyball is NOT a sport. They argue that the women wear bikinis (it is BEACH volleyball - what do you wear to the beach?), have cheerleaders (Um… I think you call them FANS), and pat each other on the butts (seen it in Pro football, baseball, and basketball).

War On The Volleyball Court! - In a tribute to the victims of Russia’s military blitz, the country of Georgia strikes back with a defeat in women’s beach volleyball in the Beijing Olympics.

Too Much Skin? - As asylum.com points out, popular media outlets are using beach volleyball coverage as an excuse to show some skin and improve ratings. They go on to say that NBCOlympics.com covered a story on the hand signals of beach volleyball and never offered information on the meanings of the hand signals - just close-ups of well-tanned bums.

Who’s Wearing What? - In beach volleyball, why do men wear shirts and women wear bikinis? 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Holly McPeak says, “Women choose to wear a two piece bathing suit because it is the least restrictive uniform possible.” and for men, “...the governing international body for the sport prefers a cleaner look with their country, names and numbers on their shirts.” Not the answer I would have given… but, there you have it.

Strange Body Taping - What is that thing on Kerri Walsh’s right shoulder? No, it’s not a tattoo. Turns out, it’s Kinesio tape. It helps support the rotator cuff and other muscles of the shoulder to keep the shoulder from becoming impinged.