Olympians and other competitors say a provocative campaign for sports-prediction platform Novig reduces female athletic achievement to sexual imagery.
A group of prominent female athletes is criticizing an advertising campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney, arguing that it sexualizes women and undermines years of work to have female competitors recognized for athletic excellence.
The campaign promotes Novig, a sports-prediction platform in which Sweeney reportedly holds an equity interest. It depicts the actress wearing little clothing while sports equipment is positioned around her body.
The advertisement’s presentation drew rapid attention online, but several athletes said the publicity came at the expense of women whose strength, training and competitive achievements should be central to sports marketing.
Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus, British sprinter Amy Hunt, former gymnast Gracie Kramer and rugby player Sofie Fella were among those who publicly criticized the campaign.
“This Is What Women in Sport Look Like”
The athletes responded by posting images of women competing, training, celebrating with teammates and recovering from the physical demands of their sports.
Their criticism focused on a recurring problem in women’s athletics: female competitors often struggle to receive coverage for performance while appearance and sexuality receive disproportionate attention.
Titmus shared photographs highlighting the demanding reality of elite competition. Hunt and other athletes similarly contrasted the advertisement with images showing discipline, strength and achievement.
Their responses did not argue that women must conceal beauty or that female athletes cannot make their own decisions about presentation. The central objection was that an advertisement tied to sports used a woman’s body as its primary attraction while actual athletic accomplishment remained peripheral.
Novig Defends the Campaign
Novig chief executive Jacob Fortinsky defended the advertisement as playful and said it was intended for an adult audience. He also said Sweeney was involved in developing the partnership rather than merely appearing as a hired model.
Sweeney did not issue a direct response to each athlete. She subsequently posted several historic ESPN “Body Issue” covers featuring athletes, which some observers interpreted as an answer to the criticism. Her posts did not explicitly explain that intent.
The comparison does not settle the dispute. The ESPN project generally presented athletes’ bodies in connection with the physical form and demands of their sport. Critics say the Novig campaign uses sports mainly as a setting for sexualized imagery.
A Larger Marketing Question
Advertising frequently relies on sexual attention because it can produce rapid engagement. Digital platforms then reward controversy with additional views, arguments and coverage.
That can make criticism part of the campaign’s success. Even viewers who dislike an advertisement may expand its audience by sharing it.
The controversy therefore raises a question beyond one actress or company: What does a culture reward when it markets women’s sports? If athleticism, perseverance, teamwork and skill receive less attention than provocative imagery, young athletes receive a distorted message about what makes them valuable.
Why This Matters
Women have spent generations building professional leagues, securing resources and demonstrating that their sports deserve serious attention.
Marketing that returns the focus to sexual availability can weaken those gains, even when the people involved participated voluntarily. Legal consent does not require audiences—or female athletes—to consider every creative choice beneficial.
The athletes’ response is significant because it does more than criticize. Their photographs offer an alternative vision of women in sports: competing, sacrificing, failing, recovering, leading and succeeding.
THRIVE! Perspective
Genesis 1:27 teaches that women and men are created in God’s image. That dignity is deeper than appearance, public approval or commercial value.
Christians should discuss provocative advertising without degrading Sydney Sweeney or treating her as an object in a different way.
First Timothy 5:2 calls believers to treat women with absolute purity. A healthy culture can recognize beauty while refusing to reduce women—especially accomplished athletes—to bodies used to sell a product.
