ESPN Body Issue pictures

ESPN Body Issue with pictures of nude and semi-nude athletes raised some comments. Click the link to see some of the athletes in the ESPN Body Issue covers. And here's what some people had to say:

"It seems it is proving hard for ESPN to win readers. It may the reason that it has started publishing naked and semi naked pictures of athletes in its “Body issue”. I am not sure if it is taking the word literally by showing more of the body than cloth or the sporting prowess of these athletes to win back readers."

"There are plenty of passages in the Bible that refer to being naked as shameful, most of them in Genesis (Genesis 9:21 is one example), but the main problem is what Jesus says in Matthew 18:6 where he tells the disciples that it would be better if they were drowned than to cause someone else to sin."

"Posing nude for a magazine will undoubtedly create a lot of lust, which is sinful. Is there a way to do it tastefully? Yeah, but no matter how you do it, some people are going to look at those pictures lustfully. That's the way our society has set up the female image. I'm not condemning Jones; she obviously tried to eliminate that possibility as much as she could. But it will still be spiritually unhealthy for some people to look at."

"All of them look fantastic. I don't harbor any ill will towards them, but I must ask the question. The purpose of this issue was what? To sell more copies? Capitalism can be so dorky at times that I find it incredible that anyone can ever take it seriously as an economic policy."

"These are some of the best athletes of our times. They have a beauty and strength in their bodies that is a lovely thing to see. I think it's not a sin to get to admire it periodically. The Greeks and the Romans were all over making art displaying the athletic body. If they were as prudish as we are now, they'd all be covered in floor length togas."

"When will women be taken seriously? When they stop posing nude maybe. A talented woman like Ms Williams and others do not need that kind of photo, it degrades and makes men behave even worse than they already are [sorry, guys]."

"It's not the same. Guys run around with their shirts off all the time so the guys really aren't exposing anything. That said, I found the Dwight Howard photo very interesting since it's typically a woman's pose to cover up while being shirtless. If his facial expression had shown some vulnerability then it would've made a great artistic shot."

"I am all for women not degrading themselves, but she is NOT spread eagle in playboy. The photo is tasteful and artful. You can go into any museum in this country and see a picture or statue of a nakec woman or man, and we call it art."