BOS Nation FC releases statement after response to team name

Sports News

The botched rollout included accusations of transphobia, a Change.org petition, and an official statement from the team’s independent supporters’ group.

A day after unveiling its long-awaited team name amid an advertising campaign that drew criticism from both fans and players, the NWSL Boston expansion team — set to be known as BOS Nation FC — released a statement that attempted to answer its critics.

The advertising, which kicked off BOS Nation’s launch on Tuesday as the official club name, was built around a message: “There are too many balls in this town,” an attempted tongue-in-cheek reference to the male-dominated sports scene in Boston.

Along with local billboards carrying the “Too Many Balls” slogan, the club released a video presenting its new name through the prism of the campaign.

“Old balls, new balls, steel balls, cold balls,” read the video’s narrator, even adding a “goat balls” reference that included a Tom Brady cameo.

Quickly, the video drew attention from the club’s fans and the NWSL soccer community. The verdict was largely negative, with several current players voicing their disapproval with the video in particular.

One aspect that came under specific criticism was the transphobic undertones of the messaging, which was directly questioned on social media by Seattle Reign midfielder Quinn (who came out as transgender and non-binary in 2020). Quinn commented again after their comment was hidden on Instagram.

“Calling out transphobia shouldn’t be hidden!” they added in the second comment.

Several versions of the video, including the one originally posted to the club’s Instagram account (that Quinn commented on) have since been deleted.

On Tuesday night, the club held a launch event at Dick’s House of Sport in Boston. BOS Nation controlling owner Jennifer Epstein addressed Quinn’s comments.

“The whole intent behind the brand was to be inclusionary, and so we take that very seriously,” Epstein told reporters. “And I would look forward to talking to that player and thinking through why this made them feel that way.”

Also at the event was T.L. Pavlich, a fan who brought a sign that read “No Home For Transphobia.” This also came after the “NWSL Boston Independent Supporters Association” issued a statement on Tuesday expressing its “disappointment” at the team name choice and advertising campaign.

“I wasn’t a big fan of the name from the get-go,” said Pavlich. “I didn’t really love how they launched it, but honestly the video with all of the talk about balls and leaning into gender-essentialism and transphobia is really offensive, especially in the current climate, especially with what we have going on around trans athletes. Every single state is fighting or has legislation to hurt trans people. It’s really disappointing to see them leaning into 12-year-old high school jokes about balls.”

Critics also noted that the video failed to mention the other local women’s sports teams, including the Boston Fleet (of the PWHL), Beantown RFC (of the WPL), and the Boston Renegades (of the WFA). Mass. native and former World Cup winner Samantha Mewis, who was originally slated as a guest for Tuesday’s event (but was ultimately not present), noted this in a social media post after the video release:

On Wednesday, the club offered an official statement in response:

While we had hoped to create a bold and buzzworthy brand launch campaign, we missed the mark.

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.

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. Thank you to all who have held us accountable by calling for us to do better. We hear you and we will, together.

The club won’t begin NWSL play until the 2026 season. It’s the successor to the city’s previous effort at a women’s professional soccer team, the Boston Breakers (which folded in 2018).

While the club may have success in cleaning up the public relations mess created by the advertising campaign, the name of the team itself appears to be locked in.

It received a mixed response from some of the 500 fans who were in attendance on Tuesday night.

“I like the name. I think it’s original,” said Alanna Curtis, who grew up playing soccer in the Boston area. “It’s kind of not what you’d expect, so I think that’s good. Makes it stand out.”

BOS Nation, as the club noted in its release, is an anagram for “Bostonian.”

“That’s kind of cool,” said Boston resident Maria Beirne, who became a soccer fan watching the U.S. women’s team win the World Cup in 2019. “But I don’t think looking at it that you would necessarily know it’s an anagram unless somebody told you. That’s how I found out, because I saw an article and was like, ‘That’s actually kind of cool.’”

“But otherwise, when I saw the name I was like, ‘It’s interesting for sure,” said Beirne. “Definitely a mixed bag.”

Unfortunately for club leadership, the core supporters appear to be among the strongest voices of dissent. Along with Pavlich, local soccer fan Geno Anderson — who, like Pavlich, intends to join the supporters’ group — had a blunt assessment of the team name.

“I haven’t seen one person say anything good about the name,” he admitted. “So they have to go back to the drawing board and come back with something else, maybe actually get some input from people who have been around soccer and know what a team should be named.”

And yet, despite the rollout, the quick need for an apology, and even the Change.org petition that attracted more than 1,000 signatures in less than a day, the club still commands support and enthusiasm from its fans who are simply happy to see a successor to the Breakers.

“I am so happy that we’re getting a new NWSL team. I can’t wait for them to play. I’ll be at every game. Their now my favorite team,” Anderson explained.

“But yeah, the name has got to go. It’s terrible.”

Correction (Oct. 17): The NWSL Boston Independent Supporters Association does not yet have official members. An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that T.L. Pavlich and Geno Anderson were already members.