?Absurd – how did we end up like this???Andrey Bazdrev
?Muslim boxers take to the ring, and we respect them?This is a serious sporting event of an international level, and not a strip club. Therefore we decided to change the format so it is more civilized??Andrei Ryabinsky
?[It?s] difficult to imagine a boxing match without the ring girls’ revealing outfits.??State-run Rossilskaya Gazeta
Yes, the PC Police have metastasized into Russia, especially in Russia?s mainly Muslim Caucasus regions. According to a report from the BBC, ?The head of Mir Boksa, the country’s main boxing promoter, says that the women will have to cover up in future so that both fighters and fans of different cultures and religions feel comfortable. ?The announcement has been met with alarm, dismay and bewilderment? among many sports commentators and fans.
Said one fan, ?What’s religion got to do with it anyway? Boxing is a show. It’s not a church, mosque or synagogue? One commentator on sports.ru wrote: “the ring girls look better than the boxing ‘show’ itself. Why would you deprive the audience of this distraction by covering her up from head to toe?”
?An online survey by sports.ru showed that 73 percent of their readers were opposed to the decision to compel so-called ring girls to wear more clothes. The survey also carried a link to a picture of a female announcer, only her face visible, dressed in traditional clothing from the North Caucasus.? (The Moscow Times)
Whatever the case, scantily clad “ring girls” may soon be a thing of the past in Russia.
