A new football team based in Boston, United States has apologised after offending trans football players with its ‘Too Many Balls’ campaign.
On the same day BOS Nation Football Club announced its name and logo, the club shared an ad about how Boston athletics has “Too Many Balls”, along with a video clips of famous male Boston athletes holding footballs, basketballs, and hockey pucks.
“Boston loves its balls,” the ad continues, “but maybe there are too many balls in this town.”
“Old balls, new balls, steel balls, cold balls, even goat balls,” the voiceover states.
After Boston Nation Football Club, the newest team in the National Women’s Soccer League, released a video titled “Too Many Balls”, they scrapped the campaign and apologized to the trans community for not being inclusive enough…
This is so utterly ridiculous, you just have to… pic.twitter.com/yMriEPo0aW
— Jon Root (@JonnyRoot_) October 16, 2024
The ad then declares it’s time to “add a new chapter” to the city’s legacy, and shows clips of women football players to introduce the new franchise. “Anything is possible, no balls necessary,” the ad concludes.
The organisation removed the ad from its social media, but not before it had been seen and saved my social media users.
Boston’s #NWSL team has apologized for launching their new name with a transphobic ad campaign. I spoke to fans in attendance at the launch party last night who expressed their hurt, and their feelings about “BOS Nation” as a name:https://t.co/1HBAswS8AA
— Steph Yang | Horrible Soccer Goose (@thrace) October 16, 2024
The league released a statement apologising for the advert, saying: “While we had hoped to create a bold and buzzworthy brand launch campaign, we missed the mark,” it said. “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 apologise to the LGBTQ+ community and to the trans community in particular for the hurt we caused.”
The team touted its pride for being part of “the most inclusive sports league in the world” and emphasised its commitment to upholding those values.
“Thank you to all who have held us accountable by calling for us to do better,” the statement concluded. “We hear you and we will, together.”
