BOS Nation, a publicity campaign gone wrong and an apology for the hurt it caused

Tuesday should have been a triumphant night for the NWSL’s latest expansion team, but less than a day after a packed event in downtown Boston to officially launch BOS Nation’s team name and colors, the club issued an apology for the hurt the publicity campaign had caused.

Five hundred fans had RSVP’d for the event at the Dick’s House of Sport store, with Boston’s mayor Michelle Wu, Massachusetts lieutenant governor Kim Driscoll, former USMNT and New England Revolution player Charlie Davies and former USWNT and Boston Breakers players Lauren Holiday and Kristine Lilly in attendance. Former USA Hockey and Boston Blades player Angela Ruggiero also stopped in. Local vendors served food and drinks and muralist Laura DeDonato was there, not just to paint a live mural during the party but also as the person who had originally coined the name “Boston Breakers” during the WUSA era.

But amid a thoughtful launch party, there was a thoughtless element: fans had been reacting negatively not just to the team’s name but to its use of a “Balls Balls Balls” video campaign by local creative ad agency Colossus. The “Balls” ad on its Instagram featured the caption, “Thanks to our brave clients for having the guts to be wildly provocative with this launch.”

The Colossus ad also had comments turned off, unlike other posts, presumably due to the volume of negative reactions. Seattle Reign midfielder Quinn, who is trans and nonbinary, had commented on the team’s Instagram video earlier that day, saying, “Feels transphobic. Yikes.” They later also said in the comments that their original comment had been “hidden by Instagram.”

Wu, Davies and team owners made remarks from the stage hailing the team as a community asset, a way to change local children’s lives through sport, and “a nation made up entirely of you, the many stories, the cultures and passions that make up our city,” a protestor stood in the back, holding up a sign that read in bold letters, “NO ROOM FOR TRANSPHOBIA.”

The protestor, who identified themselves as Theo from Dorchester, Mass., later said the sign was a reaction to the team’s “Balls” ad.

“I think there was a lot about the launch that could have been done better, but I think the (Balls) video was really short-sighted,” they said. “I wish they had just asked some people, because it is gender essentialism, talking about balls as men’s genitals. There are men who don’t have balls. There are women who do have balls… It was offensive and hurtful.

“I’ve been waiting for this team since the Breakers folded. I was so excited. I’ve been at every event so far, and it was, as a trans person, extremely hurtful to see how they rolled this out with just senseless transphobia. It didn’t need to happen. It was completely preventable.”

“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 Wednesday’s statement.

As of Wednesday morning, the toomanyballs.com website also appears to be down.

Theo was not the only fan there who found the ad hurtful.

Liam, from Roxbury, Mass., said, “As a transgender person, I’m really disappointed to see the focus on balls as an identification of whether or not you can be a woman. It’s really disappointing to see a team that espouses values of diversity and inclusion go immediately into saying that anyone with balls is not a part of the women’s soccer community.”

The name of the team also evoked strong reactions, as evidenced by the stream of negative comments under every social media post on both Twitter and Instagram that had been rolled out as part of the launch.

“It’s not a name I would pick,” said a fan who identified himself as Anthony from Billerica, Mass. “I don’t think it’s a name that’s really going to resonate with a lot of Boston people, especially seeing the comments on videos and stuff. It definitely could use some work. And I definitely think it could be more democratic with the people of Boston, too. Maybe that would be interesting to do, but it’s not a bad name. It’s not the worst name ever, but it’s not the best.”

“I am not super-comfortable with it,” added Liam. “It’s really easy to draw a nationalism bit… Are we all, as their supporters, ‘the nationalists’? Don’t know if I love that.”

“If it had not been broken by Sandra (Herrera, of CBS Sports), who I really respect as a reporter, I would have thought it was a joke. It’s embarrassing,” said Theo.

The criticism at the event, however, seemed to be coming from a constructive place, rather than an out-and-out attack. Theo was wearing an NWSL Boston hat featuring the team’s placeholder logo, purchased before the team launched its name and ad campaign, and as they had noted, they were eagerly waiting for the return of NWSL to the city as a Breakers fan.

Liam was the same, draped in a team scarf — this was not someone who had come to the event strictly to be angry at the team, but to try to see what could be done moving forward as a long-time Boston soccer fan.

“I’ve been interested in the local soccer community since around 2013, when I first moved here,” he said. “I had a partner at the time who got me into the Revolution (the area’s MLS team), and then from there into the Breakers. So I’ve been kind of on the sidelines of the scene, but now that it’s in my backyard, I really want to get involved.”

Other fans had similar sentiments, even advocating to allow for a little bit of grace in the process.

“I think (the name) could use a little bit of extra love,” said Natasha from Worcester, Mass. “But also, like, people can also understand it goes through stages, and people have to figure it out and, if it doesn’t stick, they can change the name at any time if they want to.”

“The name announcement was kind of interesting. That’s just my real thoughts about it. But I’m always in support of anything Boston, to be honest,” said a fan who identified herself as DJ Whysham, from Dorchester.

“I don’t think it’s too late for the team to reverse course and try something else different, given the immediate negative response from the fanbase,” said Liam.

It was clear that responses at the event were from fans who want BOS Nation to succeed. While the online reaction was overwhelmingly negative, the locals who form the team’s home fanbase were sincere.

There could yet be room for Boston to evolve, in more ways than one.

The fans at the launch party seemed ready to get behind changes for the better, and to have a team of their own to root for.

(Top photo: Steph Yang/The Athletic)