Professional cyclists Demi Vollering and Maddy Nutt have joined prominent international athletes in condemning a stark promotional campaign by sports prediction app Novig featuring American actor Sydney Sweeney. The backlash highlights ongoing tensions over the sexualization of women in sport, even as the company reports strong engagement and Sweeney experiences a dip in social media followers.
Athletes Hit Back at Novig Campaign Featuring Sydney Sweeney
A promotional video released for sports trading platform Novig has ignited an international backlash across women’s sport, drawing sharp rebukes from high-profile athletes who argue the campaign undermines years of progress in treating female competitors with professional respect. The advertisement stars actor Sydney Sweeney posing naked with strategically placed sports equipment and mimicking various athletic disciplines. According to Cyclingnews, the video achieved massive reach after Sweeney shared portions of it with her more than 25 million Instagram followers.
The response from the athletic community was immediate. Double Tour de France champion Demi Vollering voiced her frustration through social media, pointing to the persistent demand for female athletes to navigate appearance standards rather than focusing purely on athletic capability. Australian Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus also condemned the campaign, describing the advertisement as a kick in the face to every woman
dedicated to perfecting her athletic craft.
“Maybe it’s good that it started a conversation, but it’s also sad that women still need to have this conversation. For a very long time, women have fought to be seen for what they can DO, not only for how they look.”
Demi Vollering, professional cyclist
Differentiating Athletic Empowerment from Promotional Imagery
The debate has drawn clear lines between how female athletes view bodily expression versus how commercial entities package athletic motifs for targeted demographics. Gravel racing professional Maddy Nutt addressed the distinction directly, noting that while athletes occasionally appear unclothed in body-positivity contexts, the Novig campaign serves an entirely different audience. As reported by Cyclingnews, Nutt posted training footage with the caption Dear Sydney Sweeney, this is what a female athlete looks like,
emphasizing that muscularity, sweat, and endurance represent the true face of women’s sports.
Clinical psychologists specializing in body image note that such campaigns amplify the difficult contradictions female competitors face. Athletes must navigate expectations to be strong yet feminine, performing at elite levels while simultaneously managing external scrutiny over their physical appearance. Observers point out that when commercial campaigns conflate athletic motifs with pure sexual display, they risk reinforcing the exact appearance-based standards that generations of sportswomen have worked to dismantle.
Social Media Fallout and Corporate Strategy Behind the Campaign
The commercial fallout has registered visibly across digital metrics. Meanwhile, Novig’s marketing approach appears to be paying dividends in terms of overall visibility, racking up millions of likes and views.
Sweeney defended the concept in a published statement, characterizing the campaign as an effort to embrace a humorous, confident idea designed to cut through market noise and put focus squarely on sports.
Broader Cultural Tensions Surrounding Public Profiles
Commentators note that the intensity of the reaction against Sweeney extends beyond any single advertisement. While progressive critics and industry observers continue to debate the cultural implications of her brand partnerships, supporters maintain that her commercial choices are separate from political alignments and represent standard marketing strategies aimed at male-dominated sports prediction audiences.
