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Good morning! Keep showing basic respect for your fellow human beings today — it’s appreciated. Inside:
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Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images
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What we're not talking about
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Me: “I’m not gonna talk about the Sydney Sweeney Novig ad because that’s exactly what they want me to do.”
Also me: “I HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS NOVIG AD!!!!!!!”
Y’all, I’m tired. This was a tough week for women in the sports world. Listen, I’m a grown woman, and I cynically expect disrespect often. But so much in one week? A week through which I’m just trying to live my life and watch my Saints lose again?!
Let’s catch you up:
Of course there’s been backlash, and backlash to the backlash. But here’s what I think is missing from some of the discourse around this.
Arch observations:
- I’ve heard: “Are we being too harsh on a college kid?” I’m big enough to admit that before I knew anything about the video, I was one of those people! But I looked it up, and it was so carelessly brutal and demeaning that I felt a little sick. I asked my husband, “Am I overreacting???” and forced him to watch it. He looked a little sick, too. Are we in Bizarro World that anyone thinks it was funny?
- Also, Arch is an avid golfer who's exactly in Good Good's target demographic and plays in the city where the brand was about to sponsor a PGA Tour event. He probably saw that story! And this is the most media-trained college kid of all time, who’s been extremely famous for five years and makes millions of dollars…
- The worst part was hearing journalists in the room — adults in my field — laughing, too. Guess I’ll be waiting on those apologies until
I die we use AI to identify their laughs. š«”
Sweeney swipes:
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When I first saw the Novig ad, I rolled my eyes, wondered how much money she was making and moved on. (Turns out, she has equity in the company.)
Then, the backlash began. Four-time Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus described the ad as a “kick in the face” to women in sport. Sweeney lost 200,000 followers (but Novig surged in search š).
But a few things I think the reaction misses:
- Unfortunately, the visceral reaction is the WHOLE POINT. Because it’s made for rage-bait, anything we say about it just gives it oxygen. (Though that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t say something.)
- The Novig ad isn’t a “women’s sports” issue. We seem to be conflating a woman being near sports equipment with being a woman “in sports.” Maybe a distinction without much difference, but somehow I resist even dignifying the ad with that designation. As my colleague Katie Whyatt put it, “This has become the biggest women’s sport talking point of the year, yet doesn’t even involve a sportswoman.”
- What it DOES do is sexualize a woman’s body to sell a sports gambling (OK, “prediction”) product. Predictable, though lame and cringe.
- On that note, gambling is a much greater safety threat to women than Sydney Sweeney’s breasts. Research shows that intimate partner violence can increase by 10 percent in a team’s home market after an upset loss, and when you add in sports betting, that’s amplified by 10 more percentage points.
Whatever you think of the incidents, both highlighted what women who participate in sports have spent their whole lives trying to overcome: the knowledge that lots of people don’t want you in this space as a fully human person. You either aren’t safe at all, or you aren’t safe to be anything but an object of desire.
And that was a huge f***ing bummer this week.
But let’s end on a little hope (and what I think all those women athletes were saying): Women are accustomed to our bodies being reduced to sex, and women’s sport is one of the most powerful ways we’ve reclaimed ourselves and helped our daughters learn a different way.
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Alex Grimm / Getty Images
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Tough blow on the international-soccer recruiting trail for USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino, as 19-year-old center back Noahkai Banks picked Germany (where he grew up) over the U.S. (his birthplace and youth national team). If you’re German, the addition of one of the Bundesliga’s most talented young defenders warrants a subdued little fist pump. If you’re American, this is a big loss. Read what Pochettino had to say here.
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- Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell set a new WNBA single-season points record, breaking A’ja Wilson’s mark (albeit in three more games).
- Three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald expects to make his un-retirement debut when the Rams play the Giants on Monday night.
- The Yankees are placing star right fielder Aaron Judge on the IL, a blow to their longshot hopes of winning the AL East.
- The Braves meanwhile clinched a return to the postseason. Their magic number for the NL East is three.
- English soccer club Oxford United apologized and discontinued its “United 93” clothing collection after what seems like an unintended association with the 9/11 attacks.
- The Jazz agreed to a five-year rookie-scale extension with point guard Keyonte George that seems like a solid deal.
- As did the Pistons with Defensive Player of the Year finalist Ausar Thompson.
- The 2032 Brisbane Olympics will feature rowing and canoe events on a river that is a “known crocodile habitat.” š
- Mets first baseman Jared Young is out of the hospital after suffering a head injury Thursday. His season is done.
- Blue Jackets’ leading goal scorer Kirill Marchenko was evasive about his future in Columbus. Asked where he wants to play hockey, he said “On the ice.” š¬
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Derick Hingle / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
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šŗ CFB: No. 7 LSU at No. 8 Ole Miss
7:30 p.m. ET on ABC
This is the most important college football game that has ever been played. OK, that’s not true, but to read any coverage this week — and to be in my (Hannah’s) head as an LSU fan — is to feel like it is. Lane Kiffin back on his jilted ex-team’s stomping grounds? Lively.
šŗ WNBA:
1 p.m. ET — Phoenix Mercury at Dallas Wings (CBS, Paramount+)
7 p.m. ET — Chicago Sky at Atlanta Dream (Prime Video)
9 p.m. ET — Seattle Storm at Golden State Valkyries (Prime Video)
These home teams are all still jockeying for playoff seeding and are within four games of each other. The Wings are playing for better seeding in Paige Bueckers' first WNBA playoffs, and the Dream are playing for better seeding in Angel Reese's first season in Atlanta.
šŗ MLB: Philadelphia Phillies vs. N.Y. Mets
4:10 p.m. ET on ESPN
The Phillies are playing for wild-card seeding. Also, the Mets are a … trip … to watch these days. See our latest playoff projections here.
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When is Baltimore running back Derrick Henry going to slow down? At 32, it looks like the answer is unchanged: not yet.
Only 15 guys in NBA history have scored more points than Nuggets small forward DeMar DeRozan, and fewer still have done as much to reduce the stigma around mental health struggles. Great read here on DeRozan’s work and ambitions as his playing career winds down.
Watch: "Lanterns" has been so good that I've told multiple non-superhero fans about it. You need no comic book knowledge to get sucked in. Just watch it. — Chris Branch
Eat: I’m not a huge seasonal foods person, but I’m always excited to see these Trader Joe’s pumpkin spice cookies back on shelves. The texture is similar to those classic Circus Animal cookies. — Torrey Hart
Tech tip: You don’t necessarily need a new phone to get updated features. Anyone with an iPhone 11 or newer can simply download Apple’s newest operating system, iOS 27. Here are all of the changes my Wirecutter colleagues and I are most excited about. — Brenda Stolyar
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The Hyrox athlete who soiled herself midrace apologizing and forfeiting her win.
Most-read on the website yesterday: The Hyrox stinkgate.
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