• Initial release provoked debate over sexism in sport
• Athletes say they are comfortable with choices offered

In the moments before she fired off the Instagram comment heard around the world , Tara Davis-Woodhall could hardly believe her eyes.

The American long jumper and world silver medalist had just seen a photograph of one of Nike’s Team USA uniforms for this summer’s Games, a high-cut leotard barely covering the bikini line that was unveiled at a launch event in Paris last week. The running publication Citius Mag had posted an image of the slinky uniform on a female mannequin alongside a male one-piece kit with longer legs.

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Girls are much more likely than boys to drop out of competitive sports. It’s little wonder when revealing kits are highlighted on the global stage

Paris has long been known for its avant garde fashion. Yet the couture scene would be hard-pressed to produce anything as confounding and controversial as the Team USA track and field kits that were unveiled in the City of Lights last week.

There was nothing to see when it came to Team USA’s men’s track uniforms: standard shorts and a tank top. But when it came to their female counterparts, there was everything to see, especially around the nether regions.

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Stef Reid has accused the sportswear brand of not meeting the inclusivity values it promotes by not selling shoes individually

A Paralympian is urging Nike to start selling individual trainers to single-leg amputees after spotting that the sports brand is using mannequins with running blades to promote its products.

Stef Reid, a former Paralympian medal-winner who represented both Canada and Great Britain, has accused the sportswear company of failing to live up to the values of diversity and inclusion that it is promoting through its para-athlete models by refusing to sell single shoes.

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The Labour leader jumped on the critical bandwagon about the sports giant’s colourful new update of the England team’s kit, but the real outrage is the profiteering price tag

The new Nike version of the St George’s Cross , revealed earlier this month, looks very nice. I’m sure everyone is agreed on that. It’s neat and stylish. Definitely nicer than a traditional St George’s Cross, an image that dates from the middle ages and betrays the design limitations of the era. Stripping away the connotations of the standard England flag, both positive and negative, and comparing it with the Nike one with complete aesthetic objectivity – and I’m convinced I’m capable of that and you’ll get an earful if you tell me otherwise so don’t bother – the Nike one clearly looks more pleasant.

Nevertheless I was surprised to hear from Keir Starmer that it was being lined up actually to replace the England flag. It’s quite a bold move to change an ancient national symbol and it feels risky to cede the copyright for that sort of thing to an American sportswear giant. You can take being business-friendly too far and, as the Labour leader said himself: “ it doesn’t need to change ”. Quite. The old one will do.

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This England team are constantly battling toxic politics, so perhaps Nike and the FA should have been more careful

Flag . noun. A piece of bunting used as an emblem for military or naval purposes, signalling decoration, display, propaganda.

Flag . verb. To droop, to flap feebly, to grow spiritless.

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• FA says kit has design elements that relate to World Cup win
• Rishi Sunak ‘we shouldn’t mess with’ national flags

The Football Association has defended the multicoloured St George’s Cross on the back of England’s new shirts, saying it was part of a tribute to the team that won the World Cup in 1966.

The design on the back of the collar has been criticised , with Rishi Sunak among those on Friday to speak out against it. Nike said on Thursday the “playful update” was meant to “unite and inspire” fans for the 2024 European Championship but the FA offered a different perspective on Friday.

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Among lowest taxpayers were companies whose CEOs have become high-profile advocates for corporate social responsibility

Some of the US’s most profitable corporations, including General Motors, Citigroup, and Netflix, have slashed their tax bills in the years since the passage of the Trump tax cuts, with nearly a quarter paying rates in the single digits and 23 paying nothing, a report has found.

The 2017 law cut the top corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%. But the new assessment of corporate tax avoidance, published today by the non-profit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (Itep), found that during the first five years the law was in effect, many profitable public companies in the US paid a far lower rate in practice.

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• ‘They know they got this wrong,’ England keeper tells Sky News
• Nike did not make World Cup kit available for sale before U-turn

Mary Earps has said she thinks Nike learned lessons over the “injustice” of not making her England replica shirt available for sale after the World Cup.

Nike faced a widespread backlash for not selling the England goalkeeper’s shirt that she wore at this summer’s tournament, where her side reached the final. After mounting pressure, the sports brand released Earps’ green long-sleeved Lionesses shirt for sale, with the product selling out twice after a matter of minutes.

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Company to sell ‘limited’ England, US, France and Netherlands jerseys in response to outcry after Women’s World Cup

The England goalkeeper Mary Earps’ penalty save in the Women’s World Cup final was one of the most nail-biting moments of the tournament and there was a public outcry from fans when Nike refused to sell replicas of her green jersey.

But that shouldn’t be the case for much longer after the global sports firm responded to backlash by agreeing to retail “limited quantities” of goalkeeper jerseys for four teams it outfitted – England, US, France and the Netherlands.

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