Think you know sports?
On September 9, 2026, a video of Sydney Sweeney appeared on social media and sparked widespread backlash. It was an ad created by Novig, a sports prediction marketing company, showing Sydney Sweeney appearing nude or nearly nude while using different sports equipment to cover parts of her body. The purpose of the video was to promote a sports prediction market that was strictly sports, excluding other outside factors. Their idea was to “prove” that anyone can use their knowledge of sports by participating in a prediction market.
After I watched it, I felt many emotions: Anger, disgust, confusion.
Disappointment.
As a woman who grew up playing sports and has seen firsthand what it’s like to be a woman athlete and try every single day to prove yourself, I have a lot to say about this video.
First off, I would like to recognize that this isn’t just entirely Sydney Sweeney’s fault. Yes, she is the face of the ad and agreed to it, but there are so many people who contributed to this video. Someone came up with the concept; someone approved that concept. Someone wrote the script, filmed it, and brought in the equipment. Someone funded this project; someone approved those numbers. Marketing, set design, makeup and hair, editing, sound effects. So many people involved are at fault for this ad and the negative impact it has on women’s sports. It’s another strike thrown at us, attempting to set us back decades of the hard work every woman athlete has put into making it to where women’s sports are treated as equal to men’s.
Except we didn’t let it set us back – because we are stronger than this act of degradation. Online, many athletes have spoken out about their feelings and their responses to how this ad sexualizes women and undermines their achievements and strengths. Arianre Titmus, a four-time Australian Olympic champion swimmer, said, “ I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this. Not only is it a kick in the face to every woman who had dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every woman who enjoys sports for what it really is – teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellence, unity”. From her words, hundreds of athletes began to post footage of themselves competing in their designated sport, proving that this is what a woman in sport looks like.
My personal favourite was a TikTok created by a woman and athlete named Joy Habib, promoting the Click Coach App, an app where you can find and book any coach for any sport. She responded to Novig’s app by using the same dialogue, such as “ Think you know sports?” but taking a different approach by presenting various women playing their specific sports and showing off their talents. The goal was not only to promote their app and why it would be beneficial to their audience, but to stand up against Novig and show what an empowering yet successful ad can look like, without degrading women.
Because the truth is, why are we still living in a world where profiting off a woman’s body and sexualizing women’s sports is still a thing and deemed okay for some people?
For over a century, women have fought to earn their place in the sports world and to make it to today, where there are professional leagues. Throughout the 20th century, accomplishments and milestones were created as women began to compete in the Olympics, both winter and summer. In 1915, women’s swimming was recognized by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) as a sport, and seven years later, they also added track and field. In 1943, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was created, and in 1996 the Women’s Professional Basketball Association (WNBA) was founded. In 2012, the U.S. sent more women than men to the Olympic Summer Games in London for the first time ever. Now, we have the opportunity to watch and cheer for women’s professional sports such as the WNBA, the Women’s Professional Hockey League (PWHL), the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), Women’s Football Alliance (WFA), Women’s National Football Conference (WNFC), the National Ringette League (NRL), the Women’s Professional Baseball League (WPBL) and the hundreds of Olympic events. We’ve come a long way in providing opportunities for gender equality in sports and inspiring future generations, and though there is still more we can do, it has to start somewhere.
I grew up playing Ringette, an on-ice sport. Since I was young, I would often get asked what Ringette was, as it wasn’t as popular as other on-ice sports. I never minded answering questions about what it is, the rules, the technique, etc. What I did have a problem with was when I would hear the boys in my grade four class ridicule me that Ringette wasn’t a real sport. Or that girls couldn’t skate as fast as boys (even though it’s been proven many times that Ringette is a faster sport than hockey, and I’ve beaten these boys in races before). When I wore my gold medal to school once that I was so incredibly proud to have earned, someone told me it wasn’t a “real” medal because it was a Ringette medal. I was tired of always having to defend my favourite sport, my passion, my craft, just because it wasn’t good enough or didn’t seem legitimate enough.
There has been so much growth in this sport, and every year it keeps getting bigger and more well-known. More kids anticipate every winter season, putting on their skates and flying across the ice, feeling nothing but proud. Yet I still think back to those comments, how neither I nor any girl deserved to hear those words. I know these are comments other women athletes have heard in their lifetime and have also tried to overcome.
When I see ads like Novig’s, it’s not just my adult self watching it. It’s that little girl inside me watching and seeing how women are portrayed. Instead of showcasing our talents, it showcases our bodies. And other little girls will watch this ad and believe their strength and hard work might not be enough. Thankfully, we won’t let that happen. This is a lesson that will be ignored. Because there are so many amazing role models that work hard every day to demonstrate how strong, smart and powerful they are. Women, we work harder, train harder just so we can be seen and heard, but it’s a fight that is willing to be fought if we’re able to stand up to negative and inaccurate portrayals such as this ad.
Think you know sports?
Yes, we do know sports.