As America’s sports world remains locked in an ongoing culture war over the presence of trans athletes in women’s sports, this year’s Super Bowl ad slate became a battleground.
Two commercials in particular drew the ire of many who advocate for protecting female athletes from trans inclusion.
One ad that drew the outrage was directly from the NFL and boasted one of the longest run times of the entire night. The league’s “Leave The Past Behind” spot, which intended to promote the spread of girls’ flag football to more high schools across the country, offended some with its portrayal of a female flag football player outperforming male players.
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Many critics took issue with the commercial for promoting imagery of females competing evenly and more superior to males. The notion that female athletes are not at a physical disadvantage compared to their male counterparts is often used in arguments promoting trans inclusion in women’s sports.
The women’s advocacy group “Women Are Real” slammed the ad for promoting that notion in a reply on X.
“I hate this ad with all my heart. We know we can’t compete against a team of men. It’s a lie. And it’s a slap in the face of every phenomenal female athlete. Women’s sports is about female excellence. Leave the men out of this,” the advocacy group’s X account wrote in response, and later posted more replies.
“Support your daughter’s development as a female athlete. Don’t compare her to boys this will only discourage her. This ad is a lie that serves as a slap in the face of all hardworking female athletes. Women’s sports is about female excellence. Leave men out of it.”
Marshi Smith, the co-founder of the legal advocacy group the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, called out the NFL for its ad in her own post on X.
“Why is the world obsessed with showing women playing sports against men?” Smith wrote. “Give us our own [God d—] sports and stop comparing us.”
Casey Caston, founder of the marriage-counseling website Marriage 365, criticized the ad for showing “unrealistic” imagery.
“I love women’s sports, but this is completely unrealistic and disrespects gender differences that exist,” Caston wrote on X, later adding, “Women weren’t created to do everything a man CAN do. Women were created to do everything a man CAN’T do.”
Still, the commercial was praised by other social media users for its message of trying to spread girls’ flag football to other schools, overlooking its imagery.
The other commercial that outraged advocates opposed to trans inclusion came from Nike, but for a deeper-seated reason.
The sportswear juggernaut debuted its first Super Bowl commercial in 27 years, featuring a star-studded lineup of women athletes including Caitlin Clark, Sha’Carri Richardson, Jordan Chiles and JuJu Watkins.
However, many critics were quick to call out Nike for its official company stance in supporting trans athletes competing in women’s sports.
Former NCAA swimmer and current conservative activist Riley Gaines slammed Nike’s ad, while in the same breath promoted the startup sportswear ad XX-XY Athletics, which specializes in activist apparel with messaging protecting female athletes from trans inclusion.
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“Ditch Nike Support XX-XY Athletics,” Gaines wrote in a re-share of the commercial on X. Gaines is the first brand ambassador for XX-XY Athletics.
The startup company’s founder, former U.S. gymnast and Levi’s executive Jennifer Sey, also called out Nike for the ad while promoting her own brand in a series of posts on X.
“You’re so full of it. The only thing female athletes are told they can’t do is stand up for the integrity of their sports, for keeping men out of women’s sports. Literally, that’s the only thing,” Sey wrote in response to the commercial on X.
Famed sports broadcaster and journalist Michelle Tafoya also called out Nike while promoting Sey’s brand in a series of posts on X.
“Nike is too late to this party. And they’re stuck in stereotypical language from about 25 years ago,” Tafoya wrote, later adding, “What a waste of ad dollars.”
Data suggests the vast majority of Americans, including most Democrats, are opposed to allowing trans athletes to compete in women’s and girls’ sports.
A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, do not think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women’s sports. Of the 2,128 people polled, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports.
Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.
Nearly 70% of Americans say biological men should not be permitted to compete in women’s sports, according to a Gallup poll last year.
In June, a survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago asked respondents whether transgender athletes of both sexes should be permitted to participate in sports leagues that correspond to their preferred gender identity instead of their biological sex. In that survey, 65% answered that it should never or rarely be allowed. When those polled were asked specifically about adult transgender female athletes competing in women’s sports, 69% opposed it.
President Donald Trump recently took executive action to address the issue, signing the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order” on Feb. 5.
However, some states have indicated they will refuse to follow the order and continue allowing biological males to participate and share locker rooms with female athletes, including California and Minnesota.
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