The Nationwide Girls’s Soccer League (NWSL) growth crew in Boston apologized on Wednesday for a “Too Many Balls” advertising and marketing marketing campaign that drew a harsh response from the transgender group and others.
A day after unveiling the slogan as a part of the rollout of the team name BOS Nation FC, the group posted on X that “we missed the mark” with an try to “create a daring and buzzworthy model launch marketing campaign.”
“We absolutely acknowledge that the content material of the marketing campaign didn’t replicate the protected and welcoming surroundings we attempt to create for all,” the crew mentioned, “and we apologize to the LGBTQ+ group and to the trans group particularly for the damage we brought on.”
From us to you. pic.twitter.com/ASHFHltb5n
— NWSL Boston (@NWSLBoston) October 16, 2024
The brand new title, an anagram of Bostonian that additionally performed upon being a “boss,” was introduced Tuesday together with a video celebrating town’s skilled sports activities historical past — largely achieved by males — with the narrator saying, “Boston loves its balls” and “there are too many balls on this city.”
It concluded: “We’re BOS nation, the place something is feasible. No balls essential,” with the exception, the video famous, of a soccer ball.
“I am actually trying ahead to see the group’s response,” Jennifer Epstein, one of many crew’s homeowners, instructed The Related Press. Actress and director Elizabeth Banks and Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman are also a part of the all-female possession group.
However what they received wasn’t what they anticipated.
Among the many reactions was an Instagram publish from Seattle midfielder Quinn, who identifies as transgender and nonbinary, saying, “Feels transphobic. Yikes.”
There was additionally criticism, together with from Massachusetts native and former U.S. ladies’s nationwide crew participant Sam Mewis, for the failure to acknowledge current ladies’s sports activities groups within the metropolis, such because the Boston Fleet of the Skilled Girls’s Hockey League.
The crew took the video down from its web site, and its toomanyballs.com web site was a lifeless hyperlink on Wednesday. The general public relations company that despatched out the information launch concerning the title rollout didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from The Related Press.
“We’re proud to be a part of probably the most inclusive sports activities league on the planet and are dedicated to upholding the unifying values that outline the NWSL and our membership,” the crew posted on X. “Thanks to all who’ve held us accountable by calling for us to do higher. We hear you and we’ll, collectively.”
Info from The Related Press contributed to this report.