Dodgers star slams MLB for risque sports ads amid Sydney Sweeney controversy originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Women athletes first spoke out about the controversial ad that showed actress Sydney Sweeney semi-nude, covered only by sporting equipment. Now, this Los Angeles Dodgers star is doing the same.
Alex Call shared a message on X slamming the MLB for the "soft porn ads" they were running while he was watching baseball with his son.
“Can we please get the soft porn ads off playoff broadcasts, TBS, Fox, NBC, @MLB?" Call asked in the Oct. 13 post. "My son wants to watch baseball with Dada, but how do I justify that when a half-naked women [sic] could come on screen anytime?? This is America’s Pastime. Parents shouldn’t have to worry about this.”
While Call did not mention Sweeney and her Novig ads by name, the mention of "half-naked women" seems to be a nod to the controversial promotion. The Euphoria actress is the star of the sports betting ad where she is covered by items like basketballs, footballs, and other sporting equipment while appearing semi-nude.
Women athletes spoke out about the Novig ad, like Ariarne Titmus -- four-time Olympic gold medalist -- who wrote on Instagram at the time, "How do we live in a world where monetizing a woman's body and sexualizing women's sport is still a thing?"
Not only did athletes speak out, but Powerade flipped Novig's "Just Sports" campaign to "Never Just Sports."
“When the conversation around how women are portrayed in sports started to pick up," said Powerade senior director of brand marketing in a statement to Inc., "We felt it was important for Powerade to share our perspective and reinforce what’s always been at the heart of our brand: athletes."
Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky spoke as part of a panel sponsored by Front Office Sports last month and said Sweeney was "driving a lot of the visuals and the messaging" behind the ads.
"It was a very exciting process to work with her both on the commercial side as well as on the creative side," Fortinsky said. "It really was Sydney who was driving a lot of the visuals and the messaging."
"We're hugely supportive of women's sports. I think it's a huge component our platform," Fortinsky added. "I think we never intended to portray female sports. Sydney's an actress, the biggest movie star in the world."
Sweeney hasn't spoken out about the ad, but she showed several covers of ESPN's "The Body" issue on her Instagram Story, where some of the women athletes were semi-nude.
The MLB has not responded to Call's comment at this time.
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