You Think It Wouldn’t Be Hard to Respect Women in Sports. Apparently It Is.

These past two weeks, being a woman in sports has felt like getting shot 73 times. 

Novig, a federally regulated sports prediction market and trading app, launched their first national brand campaign Sept. 9, focusing on betting being about “Just Sports.”

In the minute-long advertisement, actress Sydney Sweeney is seen in a dark studio, posing nude with various sport balls and equipment strategically — and provocatively — placed. She talks about how Novig is a site dedicated to nothing but sports. 

As a strategic partner and equity holder in the company, Sweeney had strong control over the creative direction of the advertisement. 

“The campaign was about embracing a fun idea,” Sweeney said on the Novig website. “The concept is simple: cut through the noise and put the focus entirely on sports. The campaign brings that idea to life with confidence, humor and a playful edge.”

Why does that mean complete nudity and sexualization?

After the campaign launched, Novig and Sweeney both faced backlash on social media, mainly from female athletes and women within the sports industry. 

“I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this,” four-time Olympic swimming gold medalist Ariarne Titmus wrote on her Instagram story after the campaign launched. “How do we live in a world where monetizing women’s bodies and sexualizing women’s sport is still a thing?”

In response to the backlash, Sweeney took to Instagram, indirectly responding to criticism by posting nude photos taken for ESPN’s Body Issue, seemingly supporting her claim that she’s not the first public figure to use nudity in a sports-themed campaign. 

Sweeney’s argument makes zero sense. 

ESPN’s Body issues started in 2009, with several prominent athletes showing their strengths and vulnerabilities through their body. Over the past 11 years, Body has featured over 200 athletes, driving the conversation around “what athletes look like and what it means to have a body that is perfect for your sport,” according to ESPN. 

Novig’s advertisement isn’t embracing the strengths and vulnerabilities of Sweeney. It’s promoting a sports betting app through the sexualization of a woman that isn’t a professional athlete. Defenders of Sweeney argue it’s just not that deep,  that she wasn’t promoting herself to be an athlete, but simply selling a betting site. 

Copywriter Paul Burke at The Spectator wrote in defense of Sweeney, saying the advertisement was meant to “appeal to the people most likely to download this app.”

And it’s doing exactly that — targeting men who will never take a woman in sports seriously. 

The sexualization of women in sports has always been an issue and Novig’s ad takes the industry back a step. Sweeney isn’t empowering women in the way she thinks. 

The campaign is a complete kick in the face to every woman in the sports industry who’s spent years earning the respect of her colleagues and teammates — something a man has never had to do. The fight against the sexualization of women is never-ending, and Sweeney just added on to it. 

The Novig campaign was the first simple jab in a series of punches to the industry. 

Sept. 12 saw a 24-23 comeback win for the University of Texas over The Ohio State University. At the post game interview, Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian ignored ESPN field reporter Holly Rowe, blowing past her microphone to celebrate with his team. 

While celebrations of such a win are important moments for a coach, it’s not an excuse for Sarkisian to blatantly disrespect Rowe in a way he never would to a male reporter. 

But this disrespect is only the tip of the Rowe-Texas iceberg. 

At the press conference after the game, Texas quarterback Arch Manning was asked about the interaction. What Manning brought up was an AI-generated video circulating online, showing Sarkisian delivering a backhanded slap to Rowe in a postgame interview, completely knocking an AI-generated Rowe to the ground. Manning and the room full of reporters laughed, withManning calling it “hilarious.”

Manning may be a young man maturing throughout his college days, but he’s also a public figure as a spotlighted quarterback and the nephew of two Superbowl-winning quarterbacks. Young boys look up to Manning, and he publicly made light of violence against women. 

Three days later, Manning publicly apologized to Rowe on Instagram. She reposted and accepted after the two spoke privately. 

The next few days, Manning was thrust into several press conferences due to Texas’ upcoming game Sept. 19. In the videos, Manning was more reserved with his responses, supposedly choosing his words more carefully after the incident with Rowe. 

Fans of Texas and Manning weren’t happy about it. 

“Media and the idiots on this app neutered him, all because they couldn’t handle him laughing at an AI generated video,” wrote X user slylerlav. 

Another  wrote the “media unintentionally handicapped their chances at meaningful or interesting press conferences from here on out.”

What was “meaningful” about the press conference with Manning? 

A video of a woman being brutalized, real or fake, isn’t something to laugh at, and the rightful backlash Manning received isn’t an excuse for his poor play in Texas’ 30-6 win Sept. 19. 

In a press conference after the win, Sarkisian said it was a “long week” for Manning, and there were a “lot of distractions” and “stuff he had to deal with.”

Sarkisian and the media indirectly blaming Rowe for Manning’s poor performance in the game is unbelievably disrespectful. It can never be a man’s fault, only a woman’s. The violence Rowe faced,  while AI-generated, is something very real for many women inside and outside sports. 

A day after the Rowe-Sarkisian incident at the Texas game, Alexander Zverev defeated Ben Shelton in the U.S. Open, collecting his second Grand Slam title of the year. 

Zverev, typically labeled as the underdog in men’s tennis, faces two accusations of domestic abuse and violence from his former partners Brenda Patea and Olya Sharypova. 

On June 5, the same day as the French Open men’s semifinals, Zverev and Patea reached a settlement on the abuse case, which has been ongoing since Oct. 2, 2023. The criminal courts issued a fine of $448,000 to Zverev, according to ESPN. 

That’s it. 

His partner before Patea, Sharypova came forward three years before with allegations of abuse, describing multiple instances of violence in several cities throughout the world. Zverev denied the accusations, but the former alleged abuses helped Patea’s case, however little the punishment. 

The Association of Tennis Professionals launched a 15-month investigation into Zverev, and announced Jan. 31, 2023 that it wouldn’t be punishing Zverev, citing insufficient evidence.

During media day at the French Open, Zverev spoke to the media about the allegations, settlement and why he wasn’t present at the trial that day. 

“At the end of the day, I do believe in the German system,” Zverev said to ESPN. “I do believe in the truth, as well. I have to be certain that, you know, I do know what I did, and I do know what I didn’t do… I do believe I’m not going to lose this procedure. There’s absolutely no chance I am.”

The settlement allegations aren’t on Zverev’s record, and he’s presumed innocent of all charges. The association doesn’t have a domestic abuse policy, allowing Zverev to continue playing in all tournaments and Opens. 

Professional sports have been protecting abusers for far too long. Violence isn’t just a problem for women in the sports industry, but for women everywhere. 

Violence against women is bigger than just sports. But when elite athletes are let off on such blatant abuse allegations, and up-and-coming college athletes are making fun of violence, it sets a precedent for the average man. And when it’s a woman seemingly against women, it’s even more normalized.

If their idols are doing it, why can’t they?