Women in sports deserve to be recognized for what they accomplish—not reduced to what they look like.

As someone who has played competitive soccer, I know firsthand how much dedication, hard work, sacrifice, and resilience goes into being an athlete.

It’s the early mornings. The exhausting practices. The injuries. The losses that make you question yourself. The sacrifices people never see. The teammates who become family. And the moments when all of that work finally pays off.

Women and girls have spent generations fighting to be taken seriously in sports. They have broken records, won championships, represented their countries, and inspired millions of young athletes to believe that they belong on the field, court, track, pool, and everywhere else athletes compete.

That’s why Novig’s “Just Sports” campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney has sparked criticism from women athletes and sports fans.

The campaign, launched in September 2026, uses sexualized imagery of Sweeney alongside references to numerous sports. Novig has described the campaign as playful and intended to focus attention on sports.

But for many people, the question is simple:

Why does a sports campaign need a woman’s sexuality to be the centerpiece of its message?

This petition is NOT about shaming Sydney Sweeney.

Women should be allowed to be feminine. Women should be allowed to be confident. Women should be allowed to embrace their bodies. Women should absolutely have the freedom to choose how they present themselves.

That is not the issue. The issue is the context.

There is a difference between a woman choosing to celebrate her own body and a company choosing to make sexualized imagery the primary focus of an advertisement for a sports product.

When the campaign is specifically about sports, it is fair to ask whether women are being represented as athletes—or primarily as something to look at.

Listen to the women who actually compete.

The response to this campaign has included criticism from female athletes across multiple sports, including Olympic athletes and professional competitors.

Their reactions matter.

Not because every female athlete has to agree with this petition, but because women who dedicate their lives to sports understand what it means to fight for recognition based on their talent, strength, discipline, and achievements.

This conversation has highlighted a larger issue: women in sports are still too often judged by their appearance before their accomplishments.

We should be moving forward—not reinforcing that standard.

What message are we sending young girls—and young boys?

Imagine being a young girl who loves soccer, basketball, gymnastics, swimming, track, hockey, or any other sport.

She should see women being celebrated for their strength, skill, determination, competitiveness, leadership, and accomplishments.

She should see women being treated like athletes.

Because they are athletes.

This message not only matters to young girls but as well for young boys.

Young boys are also watching how women in sports are portrayed. They are learning what society tells them women deserve to be valued for and how women should be treated.

We should be teaching young boys to respect women for their talent, hard work, intelligence, strength, and accomplishments—not to view female athletes primarily through a sexual lens.

When girls grow up seeing themselves respected as athletes, and boys grow up learning to respect them that way, everyone benefits.

Marketing has an enormous influence on culture. Brands don’t just sell products—they help shape what society sees as normal, desirable, and worthy of attention.

That is why this conversation matters.

We are asking Novig to do better.

This petition asks Novig to:

1. Remove or substantially revise the “Just Sports” campaign.
2. Acknowledge the concerns raised by women athletes and sports fans.
3. Commit to future advertising that represents women in sports through their athleticism, talent, dedication, and achievements—not primarily through sexualization.
4. Use its platform to positively support and promote women’s sports and the athletes who compete in them.
   
   This isn’t about destroying a person. It isn’t about telling women what they can or cannot wear. It isn’t about saying women can’t be sexy.

It’s about asking companies to think about the message they send when marketing sports to millions of people.

The campaign has clearly gotten attention. But viral attention shouldn’t be the only measure of successful advertising.

We don’t need to tear Sydney Sweeney down. We don’t need to shame women. We don’t need to tell women how to look.

We simply want women athletes to receive the same respect that their work deserves.

Because women are not just something to look at.

Women are athletes.
Women are competitors.
Women are champions.
Women are teammates.
Women are leaders.
Women are coaches.
Women are role models.

And the next generation of girls watching sports deserves to see that.

If you agree, sign this petition.

Let’s show Novig that sports fans want advertising that celebrates the sport—and the women who dedicate their lives to it.

Sign. Share. Speak up.

Women deserve to be seen for what they can do—not just how they look.