03/12/2025
Going There: The Conversation Christian Parents Can’t Keep Dodging
by Brad Harrub, Ph.D.
There are some topics Christians avoid because they’re uncomfortable… and then there are topics we avoid because we know they’ll require action. Today, I want to “go there.” I want to talk about the immodest attire many of our children—especially our daughters—are being asked to wear in modern sports. And I want to say out loud what so many parents whisper privately: this is not innocent… this is not accidental… and this is a spiritual battle over our children’s purity and identity.
The Double Standard No One Wants to Acknowledge:
Please don’t argue that they need the super tight (or almost nonexistent) uniform to be faster or more athletic. We are talking about Jr. High and High School athletes, most of whom will not play sports in college. And have you noticed the massive double standard in women’s and men’s sports?
Take volleyball, for example. The men step onto the court wearing baggy shorts and loose-fitting jerseys. Meanwhile, the women are squeezed into spandex bottoms so short and so tight that an entire gymnasium becomes an involuntary vo**ur. Someone made that decision. Someone decided that for girls to play this sport, their bodies must be put on display.
Maybe someone needs to put a stripper pole in the middle of a volleyball court to wake up some moms and dads! Don’t even get me started on the atrocious beach volleyball uniforms—or rather, lack thereof.
Sadly, parents just nod along, shrug their shoulders, and say, “Well… that’s the uniform.”
No. That’s not the uniform.
That’s a choice—and it’s time Christian parents start choosing differently.
Look at women’s gymnastics. These precious, talented young women perform incredible feats of strength and artistry, yet the leotards they’re required to wear leave little—if anything—to the imagination. If an adult male were to create and market such clothing for teenage girls, we would call it exploitation. But if a sporting association mandates it, suddenly we’re supposed to applaud?
We have lost our minds.
And let’s ask a question no one seems willing to say out loud:
Are you really okay with older men lusting and mentally fantasizing about your 14–15-year-old daughter?
If that doesn’t make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, something is deeply wrong.
Immodesty Has Been Disguised as “Athletic Tradition”:
Satan is clever. He doesn’t just tempt… he normalizes.
He disguises sin as “custom,” “style,” and “it’s just part of the sport.” But Scripture doesn’t bend under the weight of cultural trends.
Paul wrote:
“In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel…” (1 Timothy 2:9). Holiness has never been optional for God’s people. Peter reminded Christians: “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15).
And Paul commanded: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed…” (Romans 12:2).
If the world’s athletic culture demands immodesty, we don’t conform—we resist.
Parents, This Is YOUR Line to Draw:
Listen carefully: your child is not going to stand before the Lord and give an account of what the sports association required. YOU will give an account for what you allowed. If you know the uniform is immodest—and you do—then choosing to participate anyway is a spiritual compromise dressed up as extracurricular involvement.
Your responsibility is not to appease coaches.
Not to avoid awkward conversations.
Not to keep your child from “being left out.”
Your responsibility is to shepherd their soul.
If that means telling a coach,
“My daughter will not wear that uniform,”
then do it.
If that means pulling her from a team,
then do it.
Better your child miss a season of volleyball than compromise her purity, identity, and example.
“But They Won’t Change the Uniform!”:
Maybe they won’t immediately. But Christian parents have influence—more than they think. When enough families say NO, changes happen. Schools listen. Organizations adjust. Did Daniel stop praying? Did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego change to fit their culture?
And even if they never change the uniforms?
Your child’s holiness is still worth infinitely more than a spot on the roster. Do act like you want your child to be a “Daniel” on Sunday and then not stand up for them on game day!
A Call for Courage:
We’re living in a culture that sexualizes children younger and younger. And it’s not by mistake! A culture that trains girls to believe their worth is tied to skin and shape. A culture that conditions boys to view female bodies as entertainment.
And Christians? We’re too often silent.
Parents, it’s time to reclaim your God-given boldness.
It’s time to stop apologizing for righteousness.
It’s time to draw clear, immovable boundaries.
Your children need you to go there.
Your church needs you to go there.
This generation desperately needs parents unafraid to say:
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord—even in sports.”
If the world forces you to choose between the uniform and your child’s purity, the decision is easy.
Choose holiness. Choose courage. Choose Christ.
- Brad Harrub
