'No balls necessary': Women's soccer team apologizes to transgender community for 'too many balls' ad campaign
A new franchise in the National Women's Soccer League has issued an apology for airing a commercial asserting there are "too many balls" in Boston sports.
The BOS Nation Football Club posted a one-minute video on X Tuesday that features cameos from Tom Brady and a member of the Boston Bruins. The video focuses on Boston's championship culture and highlights the "trophies, banners, rings, and balls" in the city.
'At a time when trans women are being excluded from sport at every level, is "too many balls" really the tagline you want to go with here?'
"Old balls, new balls, steel balls, cold balls, even goat balls," the narrator says.
The video then shifts focus on how Boston could use a new women's team.
"Boston loves its balls, but maybe there are too many balls in this town," the voiceover continues, before introducing the club.
"We are BOS Nation, where anything is possible. No balls necessary," it concludes.
The entire campaign was in jest, and some might say completely harmless given the context, but that didn't stop the team from crumbling under criticism from activists.
Notably, a WNBA writer said the ad felt like it excluded transgender people.
"The thing that bothers me the most about this campaign is how TERFy it comes across," Frankie de la Cretaz wrote. "At a time when trans women are being excluded from sport at every level, is 'too many balls' really the tagline you want to go with here?"
The acronym "TERF" stands for "trans-exclusionary radical feminists," meaning feminists who don't believe males can become females.
De la Cretaz also wrote about feeling "unsafe" at a WNBA game because a fan was wearing a Make America Great Again hat.
Amid the hubbub, the BOS Nation Football Club deleted its campaign video then issued a groveling apology to anyone offended.
"While we had hoped to create a bold and buzzworthy brand launch campaign, we missed the mark," the team said in a statement. "We fully acknowledge that the content of the campaign did not reflect the safe and welcoming environment we strive to create for all, and we apologize to the LGBTQ+ community and to the trans community in particular for the hurt we caused."
The team's statement also declared that "we are proud to be part of the most inclusive sports league in the world and are committed to upholding the unifying values that define the NWSL and our club."
The team then thanked those who held them accountable and called for them to "do better."
"We hear you and we will, together," the statement concluded.
As has become typical with members of woke activist mobs, the apology was not received well, and they immediately started demanding that the team change its name:
The NWSL has been celebrating activism for years, including "Pride Month" and Juneteenth.
The league also has instituted "ongoing efforts" to expand diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that focus on "promoting equality and social justice within the sports community and society at large."
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