Sydney Sweeney (Actress) Is Now Said to Have Hurt Women’s Athletics With Provocative Ad Campaign

 
Brad Slager
Opinion

Sydney Sweeney has, once again, generated outrage over an ad campaign. And, also once again, those in the media carping and moaning about it are giving the exposed actress more exposure and thus serving the very purpose they are decrying.

The latest involves her appearing in commercials and digital ads for Novig, an upstart gambling platform seeking to become noticed in the rather crowded field of the sports betting industry. The ad consists of nothing more than Sweeney posing nude, with her objectionable components obstructed by carefully placed athletic gear from a variety of sports.

If you have not yet been properly offended, here is the spot from the company.

Now, in a fashion that repeats much of the outrage previously seen from Sweeney’s American Eagle Outfitters commercials, we are being told that this display is completely wrong. Of course, in making that accusation, we see the press getting things wrong.

It began with The Hollywood Reporter, which came out with the declaration that Sweeney’s suggestive snaps are the reason that “women in sports are not taken seriously.” Joining them in this approach was Variety, complaining that Sweeney was sexualizing sports. To which the only sane response should be: you can’t be serious.

We have been enduring the perpetual argument and controversy surrounding whether biological males should be permitted in women’s sports. Along the way, women have been told by many sources to suck it up and accept the inclusion in their realms. But today it is Sydney Sweeney’s fault if those sports become denigrated in public opinion.

Then, just as one would be prone to dismiss this as a ludicrous position taken by entertainment outlets, in rides the New York Times portal, The Athletic. They too see the appearance of (most of) Sydney Sweeney as an affront, creating a backlash.

Writer Amelie Claydon spoke with several female athletes who expressed disdain for the commercial. This was at least a step up from THR, which combed TikTok and other social media for comments mostly from random users.

The telling part is that these outlets could only manage to find negative responses. No one had favorable impressions of this commercial, somehow. One might come to the conclusion that the game is fixed on this issue.

As someone who is cursed with pragmatism, I feel compelled to inject some core facts into the emotional coverage. Blaming Sweeney for impacting the impressions of female sports is beyond a stretch. I cannot believe I need to say this, but apparently I do: (Ahem) Sydney Sweeney is not an athlete.

Additionally, her campaign and the company she is representing are not affiliated with any female athletics. Declaring that her appearance in these commercials somehow impacts female sports defies common sense.

This commercial is solely made to appeal to a particular demographic, one that partakes in digital wagering and could have its interest pulled in by a comely female on display. There is no message to be drawn regarding women’s sports.

If these concerned minds were so intent on preserving and supporting the cause of female athletics, it might have served that cause to support Sweeney last year. She starred in the bio-pic Christy, centered on the life of female boxer Christy Martin, who rose to prominence in the 1990s.

It was straightforward drama that highlighted a female athlete who paved the way for other women to become prominent in combat sports, such as MMA. But the film received little to no media interest. Sweeney did not earn plaudits for taking the role seriously and bulking up to play the titular boxer.

For all of the talk of wanting to protect and promote women’s competition, this film — centered on a pioneering female athlete — was all but ignored by the same people who now insist they are merely looking to champion women’s athletics. As a result, Christy shriveled in theaters upon release, and after barely seeing $2 million in ticket sales, it disappeared from theaters after just two weeks.

This current outrage is most certainly selective, and has more to do with reactions to Sydney Sweeney and not a perceived impact on women’s sports. As described in The Athletic, what is seen in the commercial is, “An otherwise naked Sweeney covering herself with American footballs, basketballs and hockey pads while pitching Novig.”

Curiously, there is a precursor to this type of display, and one that did not generate fainting couch histrionics in the media. This commercial is not the first time unclad females were portrayed in a sporting fashion, which speaks volumes about the press pandemonium.

The question that needs to be answered is this: If females in a naked condition and photographed with strategically positioned athletic equipment are said to convey negative impressions of women’s sports, how is it that the now-defunct ESPN The Magazine was not called out for ruining women’s sports years ago?!

That publication for years put out an annual The Body Edition, portraying the exact thing seen in the Sweeney ad spot. Women were shown naked, in selective poses, and I do not recall these images dissolving the social standing of their sports as a result.

In one issue, skier Lindsey Vonn was shown on the cover in the deeply sexualized version of Sharon Stone‘s famous Basic Instinct scene. If a non-athlete can be said to have set back Title IX efforts by vamping it up on a playing court, what can be said of actual female athletes stripping down in a likewise fashion?

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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