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JENNY DON'T LOSE THAT TOP: SWIMMER CRITICIZED FOR SI PHOTO

          U.S. Olympic swimmer Jenny Thompson has "caused 
     something of a stir" with a photo in which she is "pictured
     topless with her hands covering her breasts" that appears in
     the current issue of SI, according to Rick Morrissey of the
     CHICAGO TRIBUNE.  Thompson said that she "didn't expect the
     picture to show up" in the magazine but added that she is
     "happy with the shot."  Thompson: "I'm an athlete. 
     Athletics is about physicality.  And I'm proud of my body
     and the work that I've done to get it where it is.  I didn't
     do it to get more attention or to be a sex symbol or
     anything like that" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/14).
          REAX: In L.A., Karen Crouse writes while the photo is
     "tastefully done, ... I'm peeved on principle.  I mean,
     where is the picture in the same issue of Dodger outfielder
     Gary Sheffield naked except for his strategically placed
     fielding glove?  In a related question, why hasn't Jan-
     Michael Gambill appeared on the cover yet?"  Crouse, noting
     Anna Kournikova's recent SI cover, adds "if achievement was
     the only consideration," Karrie Webb and Marion Jones "would
     have graced" SI's cover by now.  Crouse: "It's not just
     about performance, it's about personalities and newsstand
     sales to the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic."  Crouse
     adds that the "few female athletes approached" to be in SI
     "face a dilemma.  Do they refuse to play by the magazine's
     rules, at the risk of being excluded from the magazine
     entirely or being re-routed to its stepsister of a
     publication?  Or do they overlook the magazine's agenda and
     use the incredible, uh, exposure they'll receive to advance
     their own agenda?" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 8/14).  USA TODAY's
     Christine Brennan writes while Thompson "defends the picture
     as being a positive image for girls of a 'strong ...
     muscular' woman, I conducted my own informal poll" this past
     weekend and "discovered an entirely different opinion." 
     Suzanne Souders, a 17-year-old swimmer, on Thompson: "For
     people looking up to her, it damages her image."  Brennan:
     "What's troubling about this trend is that there seems to be
     a warped attitude among some female athletes that it's not
     only proper to take off your clothes for a picture, it's
     actually liberating" (USA TODAY, 8/14).
          WHATEVER WORKS: In L.A., Tom Hoffarth reports that
     Playboy.com is featuring a poll through August 25 asking
     fans to name the "10 Hottest Women of the WNBA."  Hoffarth:
     "Of course, it's sexist.  But [Mercury] coach Cheryl Miller
     doesn't seem to care."  Miller: "I'm a huge fan of just
     filling seats, and if it takes the Anna Kournikovas of the
     world to fill them, then that's what you have to do.  I
     don't want to focus on (looks) being the main draw, ... but
     hey, whatever fills the seats" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 8/14).

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