Female Olympians and international athletes are pushing back against a viral sports betting commercial starring American actor Sydney Sweeney. The promotional campaign, released by Novig, features Sweeney partially covered in sporting equipment and has drawn sharp criticism from competitors who argue the advertisement objectifies and sexualises women in sport.
The commercial for sports prediction company Novig gained rapid traction online, accumulating more than 22 million views in its first two days. In the footage, Sweeney’s nude body is obscured by footballs, basketballs, and other gear while she repeats the word sports, before appearing topless on a pool table with the line, You can’t trade this, I just look good here.
While the company defended the concept as an effort to enter the national discourse, female competitors across athletics, swimming, and gymnastics quickly mobilized on social media to reject the imagery. The backlash highlights a persistent tension between commercial strategies relying on traditional sex appeal and the lived realities of elite sportswomen.
Athlete Backlash From Budapest to Sydney
The opposition crystallized on Sunday evening following the 200m final at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest. British sprinter Amy Hunt, who secured four European Championship gold medals last month, finished fourth in the race and used her post-race interview with BBC Sport to challenge the commercial’s premise directly.
“Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like: 21.4. Muscles. Hard work, blood, sweat, tears. This is a beautiful evening.”
Amy Hunt, British sprinter, via The Guardian and BBC Sport
Hunt’s mention of 21.4 referenced Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s winning time of 21.47 seconds, marking the fourth-fastest women’s 200m in history. Hunt went on to describe the unglamorous physical realities of competing at an elite level, noting that her period had started the day prior to the championship.
In Australia, four-time Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus voiced intense frustration over the campaign. Titmus called the ad campaign a kick in the face
to every woman who dedicates her life to perfecting her craft rather than sexualizing athletics.
British Olympic cycling gold medallist Sophie Capewell echoed those sentiments online, questioning a cultural landscape where sexualized representation remains the default mode for marketing female athletes.
Gracie Kramer Sparks a Global Social Media Movement
What started as individual frustration quickly scaled into an international digital movement. American gymnast Gracie Kramer initiated a viral trend by posting training footage under the caption, I don’t know what Sydney Sweeney was doing, but this is what women in sport look like.
The post surpassed one million likes on Instagram, inspiring hundreds of other athletes to share unpolished clips of themselves training and competing. Speaking to the BBC World Service show Newshour, Kramer admitted she did not expect
the massive wave of engagement.
“Unfortunately being objectified pretty much my entire career, it made me feel strong enough to post about this and to stand up for the women that don’t want to be objectified and don’t want to be looped into this unfortunate narrative that’s been pushed for a long time.”
Gracie Kramer, American gymnast, via BBC Sport
Kramer noted that female gymnasts are frequently subjected to demeaning messages simply because of the leotards required for their sport, making the collective pushback a vital opportunity to uplift peers and redefine visibility.
Novig and Public Relations Responses
Novig founder and chief executive Jacob Fortinsky defended the marketing push, emphasizing that Sweeney approached the platform regarding an equity partnership and actively participated in shaping its creative direction. Fortinsky noted that the platform targets users aged 21 and older, arguing that Sweeney’s star power successfully captures attention and forces the brand into the national discourse.
Public relationship consultant Mark Borkowski characterized the commercial as cynical soft porn,
while acknowledging to The Guardian that the resulting outrage effectively guarantees massive brand reach. Borkowski pointed out that while sex generates immediate attention and traffic, long-term brand sustainability often suffers when campaigns rely on polarizing or objectifying tropes.
Sweeney appeared to address the mounting criticism by sharing images of prominent male and female athletes, including Serena Williams, Megan Rapinoe, and Sue Bird, posing unclothed for traditional magazine features. As the digital debate continues, athletes maintain that the viral pushback has successfully shifted focus back to athletic achievement over appearance.
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