“Prove it.” Sydney Sweeney says in her new Novig ad. The ad, as well as the actress, have been the subject of controversy. Promoting a gambling app, she holds various sports equipment while scantily clad. Critics of the ad argue that her actions will set women in sports back. Supporters of the ad argue that since it promotes sports betting and not actual sports, any argument given by critics is irrelevant. Bobbi Morgan, the Assistant Director of Athletics at Ursinus College, presented her opinions on the matter
“There should be no place for ads that diminish the roles of women,” Morgan said. She stressed that giving something relevance will make it relevant and that the best way to beat down the implications of the Novig ad is to ignore it. She has seen generations of women athletes succeed, with some of the women in the USA Basketball National Juniors team going on to receive NIL deals. “I look at an ad like that and think that those days are gone, women being diminished. These girls are talented, strong, and smart.”
Morgan coached basketball at Haverford College for 13 years before moving to Ursinus in 2021. Since her arrival, the women’s basketball team has gone to the conference semi-finals in 2024 and 2026. In 2026, the women’s basketball team also made it onto the WBCA All-Academic Honor Roll. In her years of coaching, she has watched women’s sports grow over time, evolving into what we now think of today. She has seen women’s sports overcome struggles and says that “There’s no going back.”
Women’s sports have constantly been under the microscope, especially in recent years due to Caitlyn Clark and Angel Reese’s popularity. From playing basketball at the University of Richmond to coaching high school basketball to eventually moving on to college basketball and, as of 2022, serving as the court coach and assistant coach for the USA Basketball National Junior women’s team, Morgan she says that, “I’ve seen monumental changes in progress in the way women’s sports are appreciated and viewed and the ways that athletes are treated.” She cites the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, who “broke boundaries” and “have done a lot for women athletics across the board.”
Morgan mentioned growing up in the Philadelphia area and how women’s sports quickly dug its roots into the local community. She says that coaches and teachers encouraged her to pursue sports in her youth, which led to her coaching, being a sports editor, and being a director of athletics at Ursinus College. All three of her children went on to play collegiate sports, with Reilly Morgan ‘22, playing lacrosse at Ursinus.
“During my lifetime, there’s professional leagues and TV ratings for some of the games when Caitlin Clark played that were higher than any of the NCAA men’s games that year at Iowa,” Morgan remarked. “Real women are real athletes and don’t want to be portrayed the way that ad portrayed women.” She encourages viewers to “ignore the ad and focus on great achievements women have made
