Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.
Women are represented in all aspects of collegiate and professional athletics. They have fought for hundreds of years to be seen as strong, independent individuals who can hit a home run as well as create life.
Views for women’s sports in the U.S. have increased 18% in the first half of 2026 compared to the previous year, a report published by Nielsen found report. Women are strong and capable, and they continue to bend and break records every day.
On Sept. 9, Sydney Sweeney was depicted in an advertisement for Novig — a sports prediction market — wearing nothing but sports equipment, like footballs and hockey shoulder pads. The advertisement had her use sports gear to cover herself to emphasize that Novig is strictly for sports rather than politics, wars or death.
The advertisement received mixed messages. Some — mostly men — praised her body in the comments, while others shamed her for objectifying women in sports and sexualizing women’s athletics for profit. There has been immense backlash from women Olympians and athletes across the globe, specifically from British Olympic gold medallist Sophie Capewell, who released a statement on social media that reads, “Imagine a world where sexualized representation isn’t the most popular way of seeing women in sport.”
People all over social media made posts in support of athletes like Capewell, showing clips of women in their elements, playing their sports, winning Olympic medals, pushing limits and breaking records. Gracie Kramer, an American gymnast, posted clips of herself on Instagram with the caption “This is SO much more than sports,” which started a viral trend of women across social media showing themselves competing and participating in their respective sports.
Sydney Sweeney’s advertisement isn’t just a stab at women’s sports, it is also an insult to those who have fought to further women’s representation in an otherwise male-dominant field.
It is an insult to women change-makers throughout history like Babe Didrikson Zaharias, an American athlete known for her success in basketball, golf, volleyball, baseball and track and field. She is widely recognized as one of the first truly dominant figures in women’s sports history. It is also insulting to those who have transcended the popularity of women’s sports — athletes like tennis star Serena Williams, basketball record-breaker Lisa Leslie and hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser. More and more Olympians and professionals are stepping forward and sharing their journeys as a minority in the sports industry.
Sweeney’s ad reinforces how women are typically seen by men and how they are perceived in male-dominated fields. Sports shouldn’t be catered toward the male lens, as Sweeney has done; women’s sports are strictly for women to compete, empower, chase big dreams and conquer them.
Reach Ava Stampa at letters@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
