Mormons expressed their disdain toward BYU’s uniform for their women’s cross country team, and urged the school to enforce more temple-friendly modesty.
BYU’s Cross Country team is an NCAA Division I program, which is the highest tier in college sports. The team’s uniform is consistent with those donned by other schools.
The BYU team shared pictures of their athletes online, which were met with overwhelming scrutiny from members of The Church of Latter-day Saints.
‘Does running naked make you faster?’ a Mormon Instagram user commented on the team’s official Instagram post.
Another LDS church member reposted one of the photos on X and complained about the immodesty of the athletes’ sports bras and athletic shorts.
‘I know that it’s not cool to bring up modesty, but is this really necessary for BYU students to wear this for running?’ he wrote.
The post amassed more than 2 million views since its inception last Wednesday.
In a follow up, the same user said: ‘I’m not even asking for pants and long sleeves, I just think BYU should have a higher standard than the world.’
Mormon brimstone and fire rained down on BYU student athletes out of disapproval for their immodest uniforms
BYU Cross Country is a Division I program, the highest tier in college sports
The university is sponsored by and enforces the rules set by the Mormon church
Another user agreed and offered his own idea of a solution: ‘My policy would be to make all uniforms possible able to be worn with garments, so people can keep covenants easily if they so choose. That’s it. No policing, just good design.’
‘I just want people to be able to do so without modifying the clothing issued by the Lord’s university. If you want to wear clothing incompatible with the garment, go to any one of the thousands of not church universities and compete there,’ the same user wrote in a separate follow-up post.
Mormons, unlike Mennonites and the Amish, are allowed to wear secular garb – although the all-encompassing demands of their faith do seep into this aspect of their lives regardless, oftentimes in the form of promoting Sunday-best type modesty.
Many adult members wear special white garments underneath their clothes. Mormons call it ‘the temple garment,’ and it is worn by both men and women.
It is colloquially known as ‘magic underwear’ outside the community, but the church stated that the term is offensive to them.
The ‘temple garment’ is analogous to a layman’s white undershirt and boxer briefs.
A guide for young people provided by the church states: ‘Avoid styles that emphasize or bring inappropriate attention to your physical body instead of who you are as a child of God with an eternal future. Let moral cleanliness and love for God guide your choices.’
LDS Church leaders, many of them male and middle-aged, have spoken at length about the clothes young women should wear to guarantee their ‘eternal future,’ the Mormon equivalent of heaven.
‘In the gospel of Jesus Christ, modesty in appearance is in fashion,’ Jeffrey R Holland, former BYU President and a leading authority in the Mormon church, said in a sermon dedicated to young women.
Brigham Young University is located in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by pro-slavery polygamist Brigham Young, the second president of the Mormon Church, also known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The university is supported and funded by The Mormon Church to this day, and strongly enforces the church’s rules.
The university’s dress guide states: ‘[Clothing must be] modest in fit and style. Dressing in a way that would cover the temple garment is a good guideline, whether or not one has been endowed. Accommodations may be made for athletic participation.’
The Daily Mail reached out to BYU for comment.
