Why did the sports ad spark criticism?

Who said what

Each entry is attributed and dated; choose a group to narrow the list. It shows who spoke, not how common each view is. Watch the ad itself before judging a reaction to it.

Why did athletes criticize the ad?

The criticism focuses on the advertisement’s sexualized presentation of women in a sports setting: the attention goes to a woman’s body rather than to women’s athletic skill and achievement. Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus called it “a kick in the face,” and British sprinter Amy Hunt answered on the BBC: “Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like.” Source: The Guardian.

Former gymnast Gracie Kramer, Olympic skier Cassidy Gray and Olympic water polo medalist Tilly Kearns also criticized the ad, according to TODAY. Gray discusses sexualization and being taken seriously in ABC News’s coverage, around 0:20–0:28, and Front Office Sports collected further athlete responses. These are the views of the people cited, not a consensus among all women or all athletes.

“What a woman in sport looks like”: athletes’ counter-posts

Several athletes answered with images of themselves competing rather than with statements. Surfer Bethany Hamilton posted surfing photos, including one taken while she was pregnant, without naming Sweeney: “I just wanted to highlight what a woman in sport looks like.” Surfer Felicity Palmateer posted footage of herself training and surfing. Source: The Inertia.

How did Novig respond?

At a September 15 Front Office Sports discussion, the moderator raises the criticism at approximately 4:15. Jacob Fortinsky responds by defending the campaign’s sports focus and describing Sweeney’s role in its visuals and messaging. The relevant discussion runs through about 5:35.

His comments are the company’s explanation of its creative choices. His assessment of the response to the campaign is not an independent measurement of public opinion.

Play interview

What the CEO and Sweeney have said about her creative involvement is covered in was the ad her idea?.

Did Sydney Sweeney respond or apologize?

She has not issued a statement about the criticism. On September 16, outlets reported that she had posted Instagram Stories showing earlier ESPN Body Issue images of athletes including Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe, which they read as an indirect reply. Source: NBC New York. Stories expire, and this site has not archived the originals.

At launch, she described the campaign to Complex as “a very simple and playful idea.” Read the interview.

No public apology about this campaign was found in the sources reviewed through September 29. That describes the checked record; it does not rule out a later statement. Sharing an older image of an athlete also does not establish that the athlete endorses this campaign.

What the data showed

Attention data shows how big the reaction was, not who was right.

• Who people talked about. Social mentions of Novig rose more than ninefold after launch, but 96% of posts about the campaign named Sweeney and only 4% named Novig, according to Peak Metrics data published by 5W Research.
• Followers. Sweeney’s Instagram lost about 203,000 followers on September 13–14 and regained them by September 19, while Novig’s account grew from 37,000 to 93,000 by September 22, USA TODAY reported.
• Search. The same report found that search interest peaked on September 14, five days after launch.

These figures describe attention, not approval, sign-ups or revenue.

Three different questions in the debate

Representation. The athletes cited above question whether the sexualized presentation draws attention away from women’s sporting achievement. Their concerns address representation in a sports setting.

Personal expression. Golfer Charley Hull defended Sweeney, commentator Megyn Kelly said she did not understand the outrage, and radio host Howard Stern dismissed it. Each speaks for themselves, not for all women or athletes.

The product being promoted. Some community discussion objects to gambling promotion itself. One Reddit commenter’s objection illustrates that separate argument; the health and social-harm claims in it have not been independently verified here. For what the product is, see what Novig is.

These arguments can overlap. The cited interviews and comments do not show which view is most common.

A dated timeline

Dates are publication dates; where an interview happened earlier, the entry says so. The list is a record of what was said, not a poll or a count of support and opposition.

Keep this campaign separate from other controversies

Some reporting also mentions Sweeney’s earlier American Eagle advertisement, which launched in July 2025. Statements about that campaign should not be presented as responses to Novig. In ABC’s video, the shift to the earlier advertisement occurs after the Novig-related segment. ABC’s campaign coverage provides that context.