New York — Sydney Sweeney Sportsbook Ad Draws Athlete Backlash

A billboard advertisement for the sports betting platform Novig, showing actress Sydney Sweeney unclothed and clutching footballs to her chest, went up in Times Square on Sept. 16, 2026, and has drawn public criticism from female athletes since, according to a Getty Images caption cited in a Sept. 24 Guardian opinion column by Moira Donegan.

The ad sits at the center of a wider dispute over how sportsbooks market to fans, and it has become a reference point in Donegan's column, which argues that parts of the American right have shifted from a politics of sexual restraint toward what she calls open celebration of "male domination." The column does not represent Novig's or the NFL's position, and neither organization is quoted responding to the criticism in the material reviewed for this report.

What does the Novig ad show, and where did it appear?

The advertisement, photographed by Michael M. Santiago for Getty Images and displayed in Times Square, features Sweeney nude and holding footballs against her chest to promote Novig, a sports betting company. The image ran as part of a broader marketing push tied to the football season, according to the Getty caption used to illustrate the Guardian column.

Why have female athletes objected to the ad?

According to the caption accompanying the Getty photograph, "a range of female athletes" voiced displeasure with the ad, arguing that it encouraged the objectification of women's bodies and minimized women's contributions to sports. No individual athlete is quoted by name in the source material reviewed for this report, and the Guardian column does not identify specific teams, leagues, or players who raised the objection.

How does columnist Moira Donegan frame the ad in her broader argument?

Donegan places the Novig ad inside a longer list of examples she says illustrate a rightward embrace of what she terms "raunch" in place of earlier conservative sexual morality. "Conservatives long promoted a politics of sexual prohibition. Now such morals have been shed in favor of male domination," Donegan wrote in the Sept. 24 column. She describes the ad as "being hailed as a victory for the political right, because it features a nude Sydney Sweeney clutching footballs to her breasts," without naming which political figures or organizations offered that praise.

What other episodes does Donegan's column link to the ad controversy?

Donegan's column ties the Novig ad to several other items she presents as evidence of the same trend. She writes that under FBI Director Kash Patel, the bureau will now hire applicants "even if you have a history of hiring prostitutes, or of having sex with animals." She also cites a segment on the show of conservative Maha influencer Alex Clark discussing whether wives should provide sex to husbands on demand, and notes reported friendliness between Trump-aligned figures and the Tate brothers, who face allegations of sex trafficking tied to their online business. Those claims originate in the opinion column itself and reflect the columnist's characterization of events rather than independently verified reporting included in the source material.

What has Novig said in response?

Neither Novig nor the NFL is quoted addressing the criticism in the Guardian column or the accompanying photo caption. No statement from the company, a league office, or an advertising regulator appears in the material available for this report.

"Conservatives long promoted a politics of sexual prohibition. Now such morals have been shed in favor of male domination." — Moira Donegan, Guardian opinion column, Sept. 24, 2026

Timeline

• Sept. 16, 2026 — The Novig ad featuring Sweeney appears in Times Square; Getty Images photographs the display and notes female athletes' objections.
• Sept. 24, 2026 — The Guardian publishes Donegan's column citing the ad alongside other examples in a broader argument about the political right.

What to watch next

• Whether Novig or other sportsbooks issue a public response to the athlete criticism.
• Whether any named athletes, players' associations, or leagues formally weigh in beyond the general objections cited in the Getty caption.
• Whether other gambling operators adopt similar advertising approaches ahead of the football season.
• Whether the political framing in Donegan's column draws responses from conservative commentators or organizations named or referenced in the piece.

The underlying dispute — over how a legal sports betting company markets itself using a celebrity image, and how that intersects with broader political commentary — remains unresolved in the public record reviewed for this report. No court filings, regulatory actions, or on-record company statements accompany the criticism described in the Guardian column.