NWSL expansion team BOS Nation FC will be changing its name after backlash to a marketing campaign it tried to launch back in October.
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Boston-based expansion team announced Friday that it will be changing its name. The change comes after a wave of transgender backlash to a marketing campaign it abandoned back in October.
The team was set to be named BOS Nation FC, which it announced in a branding event in the fall alongside a marketing campaign that featured the slogan « Too Many Balls. » The slogan prompted intense backlash from the transgender community, including an NWSL player.
A transgender player who goes by the singular name Quinn, who plays for the Seattle Reign, spoke out against the team’s branding announcement in a post on Instagram.
« Feels transphobic. Yikes », Quinn wrote.
The team quickly abandoned the slogan, issued a public apology for it, and even thanked those who spoke out against it.
« 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 statement said.
