A recent sports betting ad featuring actress Sydney Sweeney for the app Novig sparked widespread debate about the representation and respect of women in sports. The ad, showing Sweeney in a sexualized manner, was not targeted toward female sports fans but rather toward the predominantly male betting market. Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky confirmed the campaign was designed to generate controversy and grab attention in a highly competitive industry, leveraging Sweeney’s equity stake in the company rather than a traditional endorsement deal.

Novig aims to carve a niche in the $125 billion global sports betting market by focusing solely on sports, avoiding betting markets on politics or other sensitive topics. The company’s core customers skew heavily male, with research indicating men bet on sports nearly twice as often as women and engage in higher-risk betting behaviors. This data underscores why the provocative ad was crafted to appeal to men rather than women, using Sweeney’s image as a tool to capture male attention rather than represent women sports fans or athletes.

The ad’s massive reach and ensuing backlash highlight a broader cultural tension in sports: spectacle driven by sexualization often overshadows genuine athletic achievement, particularly among female athletes. During the same week as the ad’s release, the Under-20 Women’s World Cup, featuring elite female athletes competing purely for the sport, received comparatively less attention. The disparity draws attention to ongoing issues around female athletes’ visibility, respect, and pay, with many earning inconsistent incomes and facing pressure to conform to narrow aesthetic standards to gain recognition.

This controversy extends beyond marketing into the treatment of women in sports media, with incidents like an AI deepfake of ESPN reporter Holly Rowe underscoring a toxic environment where women in sport face dismissive and sometimes hostile public responses. While Sweeney’s involvement is a savvy business move converting image to equity, the underlying issue remains: the culture rewards spectacle and manufactured attention far more than the hard-earned respect and visibility of women who contribute substantially to sports.