With the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics set for July 27, the U.S. Olympic Team’s official uniforms have finally been revealed. And this time around, America will be represented by … China. Clothing-wise, anyway.
The news was greeted with disappointment and condemnation from many Twitterers:
Seriously. RT @dannyjseo: Sad the team usa olympic uniforms are made in china. C'mon.
— Charmin ?? (@theMomiverse) July 13, 2012
The USA Olympic uniforms were made in China. That's pretty fucked up if you ask me
— Patrick Popp (@patpopp) July 13, 2012
https://twitter.com/kimchilarabar/status/223832023503085570
Not only are the US Olympic uniforms made in China, but the Ralph Lauren logo is almost larger than the flag? #embarrassing
— Shawn Wildermuth ?☕??? (@ShawnWildermuth) July 13, 2012
Disgusted with the Made in China US Olympic uniforms. Seriously.. Just to save a few bucks? What were they thinking?? #MadeinUSA #
— Golfdotz (@Golfdotz) July 13, 2012
Our unemployment rate remains high… *Meanwhile* U.S. pays China millions to make Olympic Uniforms
— Dallas Oleszkowicz (@dallasoles) July 13, 2012
RT @thenation Offshoring Olympic uniforms damages not just a nation's economy, but also its sense of self http://t.co/j4n1nIG1
— Jon Spradley (@UrbanRedev) July 13, 2012
I think it's wholly appropriate that the American Olympic uniforms were made in China. #Olympics #2012 #USA
— Adam Emperor Southard (@BestLAHeadshots) July 13, 2012
I 2nd that!!!RT @BigARashad: I still can't believe our olympic team uniforms are made in China. That really upsets me.
— TATTOO TONY LA (@TATTOOTONYLA) July 13, 2012
Members of Congress, particularly Democrats, very vocally panned the uniforms as unpatriotic.
“I think they should take all the uniforms, put them in a big pile and burn them and start all over again,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said when asked by ABC News today, “If they have to wear nothing but a singlet that says USA on it, painted by hand, that is what they should wear.”
…
Reid said today that the U.S. Olympic committee should be “ashamed of themselves,” and “embarrassed,” that the items were made in China, especially with people in the textile industry in America who are looking for jobs.
Some people expressed surprise at finding themselves to be in agreement with Reid:
Since when did Harry Reid start making sense? I couldn't believe I was agreeing with him about the Olympic uniforms!!!
— Bubbles (Ann) (@wishsong1976) July 13, 2012
HOLD THE PHONE. I agree w/ Reid here: The US Olympic team SHOULDN'T be wearing uniforms made in China: http://t.co/XvpASfpE #TCOT #P2
— Dorian Hunter Davis PhD (@DorianDavis) July 13, 2012
Shock: SML H Reid, embarrassed, upset Olympic uniforms made in China. Here's the shocker-I agree with him! Add-socialist beret appearance.
— Rosanna G.F. (@RGChronicles) July 13, 2012
Reid even found an unlikely sympathizer in The Donald:
America's Olympic uniforms are manufactured in China. Burn the uniforms!#U.S.OlympicCommittee
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 13, 2012
Reid’s sentiments were echoed by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Steve Israel, and Rep. Sherrod Brown, among others.
“The USOC holds its athletes to a high moral and ethical standard, and has a no tolerance policy for cheating or violating rules,” Sen. Brown writes in his letter to Chairman Probst, “But China continues to cheat when it comes to international trade. As we work to achieve a level playing field for American manufacturers and workers, the USOC should act immediately to find a domestic manufacturer for this year’s uniforms.”
Brown calls for the USOC to enact policies to ensure that America’s athletes wear only clothing that is Made-in-America in the next 2014 games.
Sen. Chuck Schumer is pushing for Hickey Freeman, a Rochester, New York-based clothing company to remake the uniforms, and the company claims it can fill the order in time for the opening ceremony.
please RT if you want Hickey-Freeman to make our Olympic uniforms right here in the USA. http://t.co/gv2k7soW
— Louise Slaughter (@louiseslaughter) July 13, 2012
Some Twitterers felt that the controversy over the uniforms is nothing more than a distraction.
Congress, please develop an economy where it's highly profitable to make US Olympic uniforms before grousing about where these came from.
— Randy Bohlender (@rbohlender) July 13, 2012
Would US officials still be so outraged that the US Olympic uniforms were made in China if it WASN'T an election year?? Hmmmm…
— Erika Bender (@Erika_854) July 13, 2012
https://twitter.com/NicholasSeattle/status/223812952862633985
https://twitter.com/blasteroiddd/status/223831532983431169
I wish Harry Reid was as ashamed of not passing a budget in over 3 years as he is with the Olympic uniforms being made in China.
— Sam Barkley (@sambarkley) July 13, 2012
Seriously Congress don't you have more pressing matters to be attending to than the Olympic uniforms.
— Roswell Encina (@roswellencina) July 13, 2012
The White House, for its part, is refraining from any ruckus-raising.
“Maybe for future Olympics, those kinds of things should be considered,” deputy White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One en route Norfolk, Va., this morning.
“The United States Olympic Committee has said that they are a—they are privately funded. This isn’t a government decision,” he said.
Earnest suggested President Obama would prefer to see the team outfitted in outfits stamped with “Made in the USA,” noting “the president’s views on the high quality of American-made products is well known. It’s something he talks about extensively. That includes American-made clothing.”
It’s interesting to note, then, that Ralph Lauren, the uniforms’ designer, is a proud Obama supporter.
https://twitter.com/AndrewStilesWFB/status/223815720604143616
Will the president be holding a polo summit with Lauren to discuss their economic conflict of interest?
***
Update:
Reductio ad Bainium strikes again.
USA Olympic uniforms made in China. Thank you Bain Capital. pic.twitter.com/3YvYpXRV
— Denis Leary (@denisleary) July 13, 2012
So. Much. Facepalmage.
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