Sports

Sweeney's Novig Ad Sparks Athlete Backlash

Is this offensive imagery or a tiresome moral panic?

SEP 15·Updated SEP 16

Sweeney's Novig Ad Sparks Athlete Backlash

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Above: Sydney Sweeney backstage during the 2026 Stagecoach Festival in Indio, Calif., on April 25. Image credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

The Spin

Left narrative

Female athletes spent decades fighting to be seen as competitors and not be objectified. Women's sports grew into a multibillion-dollar force because of skill, grit and championships. Selling gambling by reducing women in sport to condescending imagery is lazy and insulting.

The Athletic Huffington Post

Right narrative

Nothing in this campaign claims to be about women's sports at all — it's an ad for a betting platform aimed squarely at male bettors wagering on men's games. Provocative imagery has always been part of marketing, and the outrage is just free advertising served up on a platter.

PJ Media Townhall