The newly raised expansion team of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in Boston has apologized to the gay and transgender communities for an ad campaign that declared “no balls necessary.”
The new BOS Nation FC women’s soccer club has now canceled its branding campaign after a backlash from the LGBTQ community,, which saw the ads as “excluding” transgender people, according to Fox News.
The initial ad campaign included slogans such as “Boston loves its balls” and “there are too many balls in this town.” At the end of the video promoting the campaign, the narrator said, “We are BOS Nation, where anything is possible. No balls necessary.”
The team even created a website with the address “toomanyballs.com.” That website has been taken offline.
The team’s ad campaign was also denounced by a transgender player who plays for the Seattle Reign.
The player, who goes by the name “Quinn,” took to social media to exclaim that the campaign “feels transphobic.”
Now, the team has apologized. “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 said in a statement.
BOS Nation FC added that it is happy to be “held accountable” by the trans community.
“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 wrote on X. “Thank you to all who have held us accountable by calling for us to do better. We hear you, and we will, together.”
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