On Sept. 9, actress Sydney Sweeney appeared in a series of revealing poses while holding footballs, a golf club and other sports equipment in an advertisement for Novig, a sports predictions platform. The campaign quickly gained attention online, receiving millions of views.
For some female student-athletes, however, the images sent a different message. Junior Anaya Dubé, a volleyball player, first encountered the advertisement on her TikTok For You Page.
“Sexualized images stood out more than anything involving athletics,” Dubé said.
She pointed to professional athletes such as Serena Williams as examples of women recognized for their athletic accomplishments rather than their appearances.
Student-athletes may view the advertisement differently from people who do not play sports because they understand the early mornings, practices and sacrifices that competition requires, according to Dubé.
“The advertisement does not show the dedication that is required to become a serious athlete,” Dubé said.
Other students shared similar concerns. Junior Eden Collins, who has played club soccer for seven years, criticized the campaign for emphasizing Sweeney’s appearance rather than the dedication required to succeed in sports.
Collins described the campaign as “dehumanizing,” saying it overlooked the hard work and sacrifices female athletes make. She believes the advertisement reinforces the idea that women receive more attention for their looks than for their athletic abilities.
Her perspective is shaped by her own experience. After an injury sidelined her from soccer for over two months, Collins worked to rebuild her confidence and improve her skills as she pursued the goal of competing at the collegiate level.
For Collins, the advertisement overlooks the physical and mental challenges athletes face, including injuries and setbacks. She questioned why appearance receives so much attention when athletes spend years working on their performance.
Junior Samantha Engberg, a softball and soccer player, also questioned the campaign’s message.
“Female athletes in my friend group talked about how the ad was objectifying women and focusing on their bodies instead of their athletic contributions,” Engberg said.
Engberg noticed differences between how male and female peers reacted to the advertisement. According to her, many of her male peers initially focused on Sweeney’s appearance and did not consider the campaign a significant issue. Some began to understand the criticism after discussing the advertisement with female athletes.
That divide also stood out to Head Girls Soccer Coach Laura Flanagan, who viewed the advertisement from the perspectives of both a coach and a former athlete.
Flanagan described her first reaction to the campaign as “bold.” While her teenage sons initially noticed the images’ visual appeal, she focused on how the campaign portrayed women in sports.
Flanagan said advertising does not always accurately represent what female athletes look like, drawing on her own experience modeling Adidas gear for the Boston Marathon.
“I noticed that some of the models hired to represent athletes did not necessarily resemble the athletes participating in the event,” Flanagan said.
Flanagan emphasized that there is no single body type that defines an athlete. A marathon runner, for example, may have a different physique from a soccer player because the sports demand different physical abilities.
For younger athletes, Flanagan worries that unrealistic images can create confusion about what an athlete is supposed to look like.
The controversy has extended beyond students and coaches. Olympic athletes, including swimmer Ariarne Titmus and sprinter Amy Hunt, publicly criticized the campaign, while other female athletes posted videos of themselves competing to show what women in sports look like.
Sweeney has offered a different interpretation of the campaign. She described its concept as playful and said its purpose was to emphasize Novig’s focus on sports. She also has ownership interest in the company as a strategic partner and equity holder.
The debate reminded Flanagan of a different approach to sports advertising. She pointed to Nike’s 1990s “If You Let Me Play” campaign, which highlighted the benefits girls could gain from participating in athletics.
For Flanagan, the contrast raises a broader question about how female athletes are represented and whether advertisements are highlighting their accomplishments versus their appearances.
As women’s sports attract growing audiences, athletes such as Collins, Dubé and Engberg want the work behind their accomplishments to remain visible.
For them, sports are about more than attracting views. They are about the practices, injuries, setbacks and years of work that viewers rarely see. Their reactions highlight the difference between using sports to attract attention and recognizing the athletes whose dedication makes competition possible.
