Sophie Cunningham cut through the outrage by saying the quiet part out loud: it was a gambling ad built to get men’s attention.
Story Snapshot
- Cunningham called the ad “so inauthentic,” but defended Sydney Sweeney as doing her brand.
- She said critics misread the spot as about women’s sports; it sold betting to men.
- Female athletes blasted the ad’s sexualized imagery and tone on social media.
- Sweeney’s follower losses showed real backlash, even as the brand soaked up attention.
What the ad showed and why the backlash exploded
Reports described the Novig ad with Sydney Sweeney using sports gear to cover a near-nude body. She posed with footballs and other equipment, with little clothing, while selling a betting platform. Female athletes said the campaign sexualized women and disrespected their sport. Major outlets covered the dispute, which pushed it beyond a niche fight and into a national argument about sex, sports, and gambling culture. USA Today tracked the fallout as Sweeney lost large chunks of followers in days, signaling a measurable hit.
Academic work on sports betting ads finds sexualized imagery is common. Marketers use it to signal excitement, status, and a promise of attention for the gambler. That playbook has been around for years, especially in male-skewed betting markets. This ad fit that pattern, which helps explain why it spread so fast and why athletes pushed back. They said the spot pushed old stereotypes instead of showing real training, skill, and competition that define women’s sports.
What Sophie Cunningham actually said
Sophie Cunningham, a guard in the Women’s National Basketball Association, called the ad “so inauthentic” on her podcast. She asked, “Why are girls mad?” and argued the spot was not about women’s sports at all. She said it sold gambling to men, using “men, sports, naked women” as the obvious attention hook. She added she liked Sweeney and told her, “Go do your thing, sis,” while saying the moral vibe felt weird to her.
Cunningham also questioned whether Sweeney even bets on sports, which sharpened the “inauthentic” label. But she did not condemn Sweeney as a person or demand a boycott. She split the issue. The ad’s concept clashed with her values, but she viewed the backlash as overblown and mis-aimed. She said the ad should not be read as a stand-in for women’s sports and that critics confused a male-targeted gambling pitch with a message about female athletes.
Who read the room right: the critics or Cunningham?
The critics saw a star body painted as sports, and they bristled. That response lines up with years of complaints about brands cashing in on women’s sports while reducing women to props. Their case rests on the visuals and the timing, right as women’s sports fight for fair pay and respect. Those points are strong on culture and optics. They are less about legal rules, since no report shows a formal ad violation or product deception in play.
WNBA star Sophie Cunningham has a mixed take on Sydney Sweeney’s controversial NOVIG ad.
She called the sports connection “inauthentic” and said she doesn’t particularly like the ad, but questioned why so much anger is being directed at Sweeney herself: “Why are girls mad?”
Her… pic.twitter.com/05pueGrMz5
— Bhavesh Gujrati (@Bhaveshlivelife) September 21, 2026
Cunningham judged the ad on target and intent. She said the audience was men who bet, not women who play. That read matches standard marketing logic and even the public data that sports betting skews male. Her stance tracks with American conservative values about free speech, personal choice, and reading ads with common sense. If you do not like the message, do not buy the product. But do not confuse a racy pitch to gamblers with a statement about women’s sports as a whole.
What the numbers say about impact
Backlash was not just noise. Social data showed Sweeney lost over 200,000 followers across two days, which is a real signal even at her scale. That drop hinted at reputational risk and brand friction. At the same time, attention pours fuel on new brands. Coverage by the Associated Press, CNN, and other outlets gave Novig a far bigger stage than any standard media buy could buy in a week. That is the bargain of shock ads: faster fame, sharper blowback.
The bottom line for brands, athletes, and viewers
Brands that use sexualized tactics trade long-term trust for short-term reach. Athletes will push back when ads borrow their stage but not their substance. Viewers can spot a thirsty play a mile away. Cunningham’s split take captured all three truths: the ad sold to men, the tone was off, and Sweeney did what her image sells. The clean fix is simple. If a campaign wants the sports halo, show sport. If it wants sizzle, own that—and stop pretending it honors the game.
Sources:
nytimes.com, apnews.com, usatoday.com, sports.yahoo.com
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