Disputes concerning how women athletes and women’s sport are portrayed, marketed, or discussed publicly.
Published coverage on this page: 1 case · 4 statements. Statements are ordered newest first.
Sydney Sweeney, an equity holder in sports-prediction platform Novig, starred in a nude ad campaign that female athletes say sexualizes women's sport. Novig's CEO and a Guardian columnist publicly disputed that characterization.
Published
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4 matching statements
Role at the time: Managing editor, Townhall
Statement summary
Townhall managing editor Matt Vespa defended Sydney Sweeney's appearance in the Novig ad, writing "it's her body, her choice" and dismissing critics as jealous.
“It's her body, her choice... Is it me, or are women just jealous of Sweeney?”
What this label refers to
Vespa explicitly defends Sweeney's choice to appear in the ad and dismisses the backlash as hypocritical jealousy, a direct defense of the ad against the criticism it drew.
Role at the time: Founder and CEO, Magnolia Tribune
Statement summary
Magnolia Tribune founder Russ Latino defended Sweeney's appearance in the ad, arguing that if body positivity is celebrated for other campaigns, "that principle has to include women whose bodies other people happen to find attractive."
“If women are supposed to be proud of their bodies, that principle has to include women whose bodies other people happen to find attractive.”
What this label refers to
Latino explicitly defends Sweeney's choice to appear in the ad, arguing the backlash reveals a hypocritical double standard relative to other body-positivity campaigns.
Role at the time: Co-founder and CEO, Novig
Statement summary
Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky said the campaign never intended to portray women’s sport and that Sweeney drove its creative direction.
Quotation excerpt
“We never intended to portray female sports. Sydney’s an actress, the biggest movie star in the world. We’re a prediction market that is focused on sports, and that is the story that she was communicating... It really was Sydney who was…”
“We never intended to portray female sports. Sydney’s an actress, the biggest movie star in the world. We’re a prediction market that is focused on sports, and that is the story that she was communicating... It really was Sydney who was driving the visuals and the messaging.”
What this label refers to
Fortinsky defends the campaign as never having intended to portray women’s sport and frames the backlash as expected and not a fair reading of the ad’s purpose — an express defense of the conduct under scrutiny.
Role at the time: Actor; strategic partner and equity holder, Novig
Statement summary
Sydney Sweeney responded to the backlash by posting images from the Novig ad alongside past ESPN "Body Issue" photos of nude and semi-nude athletes.
Quotation excerpt
“It’s gamedayyyy [caption on a carousel pairing an image from the Novig ad with ESPN "Body Issue" photos of athletes including Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, Caroline Wozniacki, Myles Garrett, Rob Gronkowski,…”
“It’s gamedayyyy [caption on a carousel pairing an image from the Novig ad with ESPN "Body Issue" photos of athletes including Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, Caroline Wozniacki, Myles Garrett, Rob Gronkowski, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Jason Kelce]”
What this label refers to
Sweeney’s post implicitly defends the ad by placing it alongside a history of athletes posing nude for ESPN’s Body Issue, arguing by comparison that the campaign should not be treated as exceptional.
Actor. In September 2026 she starred in and joined as a strategic partner and equity holder of Novig, a sports prediction market, for its "Just Sports" ad campaign.
1 case and 1 statement
