During a womans’ menstrual cycle, according to the U.S. Office of Womens’ Health, not only do they experience minimal discomfort to the most severe level of pain for 40 years on end, but they also lose about two to three tablespoons of blood during each of their cycles. From studies, the more you take care of your body as a woman (whether it be working out, regulating your sleep and fluids intake, watching your eating choices, etc.), you are more likely to keep your flow to a minimum if you’re doing these things…which are all things female athletes do to perform at the highest level possible. However, while some may think that means that a female athlete's period gives them little to no problem at all, that is not anywhere near the case.

At almost all levels of Womens’ sports, whether younger leagues, older competitive clubs, varsity sports, etc, nearly every team has a white jersey, or even an all white uniform that they wear when they play away from their home turf. It might sound silly from a men’s point of view, but for women in sports, it’s something that has been a problem for years, but hasn’t really been addressed until recently. 

Many professional teams are now beginning to shed light on the problem, hoping to make the public and the world of sports aware that this problem should’ve been solved ages ago. It has been in an effort to make players more comfortable and feel more confident when playing the sport they love so much. For women, some already struggle enough with lack of motivation when it comes to menstruation, and bleeding through a pair of white shorts, a white skirt, white pants, and all things white bottoms is something that is just another problem waiting to be added to the mix. 

The first team to have seemingly brought the ongoing problem into the light was the Lionesses, who were the group of women that represented England in the UEFA Womens’ 2022 European Championships. The 23-Woman squad pulled out the most dramatic of double overtime wins against Germany, winning 2-1 after 120 minutes of back-and-forth play. On July sixth, the same day of the tournaments’ commencement, The Athletic released an article regarding the issue after speaking with members of the Lionesses squad regarding the impracticality of wearing white shorts knowing that time of the month could begin, or even be happening when you are in that all white uniform. 

Sarina Wiegman, Englands’ manager for the womens’ side, told The Athletic, “It’s very nice to have an all white kit but it’s not very practical when it’s that time of the month. We’ve discussed it as a team and we have fed that back to Nike.” The concern raised publicly came from England players Beth Mead and Georgia Stanway, after having their periods throughout the European Championships this last summer, with the Womens’ team mostly wearing their white uniforms for the duration of the tournament.