Liverpool FC
fromESPN.com
1 week agoSoccer's incredible shrinking shinpads could be a big problem
The trend of using smaller shin pads in football may lead to serious injuries and a reevaluation of player safety equipment.
In the run-up to this year's Winter Olympics, and even as the Games have got underway, a scandal has been brewing: allegedly, some competitive ski jumpers may have artificially enlarged their crotch area by injecting their genitals with engorging chemicals or stuffing their underwear to create bigger bulges. The apparent reason: to alter their suit measurementsski jumpsuits are precisely tailored to jumpers' bodiesand, reportedly, to gain a boost in jumps. The allegations, first reported by a German media outlet and since dubbed Penisgate, have caught not only the Internet's attention but also the World Anti-Doping Agency's eye, although no athletes have been implicated by name.
Sportswomen have been short-changed when it comes to their gear and equipment. But the days of 'pink it and shrink it' are being consigned to the past as sports products begin taking heed of female athletes, with data and made-to-measure design being applied instead of using male parameters and transferring them