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.
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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at a kickoff celebration for NWSL’s Boston franchise at Dick’s House of Sport. (Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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.
“Thank you to all who have held us accountable by calling for us to do better. We hear you and we will, together,” said another statement.
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Earlier this month, the club hired new chief revenue officer Amina Bulman, the former chief brand and strategy officer for the NFL’s Washington Commanders since September 2020, when the team was in transition from its previous “Redskins” branding,
Now the Boston-based women’s soccer team is erasing all traces of the branding that came out of its October announcement by opting to change its proposed name as well.
“The club extends our heartfelt thanks to our supporters, whose passionate voices we deeply value — not just for their unwavering support but also for their honest and critical feedback,” majority owner Jennifer Epstein said in a statement.
“We could not have completed this process without your input. We aim to build a lasting legacy that makes all our fans feel welcome, connected, and proud to wear our colors and cheer our name for generations to come.”
The issue of trans inclusion in women’s sports proved to be one of the most contentious political topics of last fall and the start of 2025, as multiple lawsuits and federal investigations have been prompted by situations involving trans athletes in the last six months alone.
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Data suggests the majority of Americans oppose trans inclusion in women’s sports, and the issue even played into the 2024 election results.
A New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don’t think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women’s sports, as 79% of participants said that biological males who identify as women should not be allowed in women’s sports. Of the participants who identified as Democrats, 67% said that transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.
A national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of “Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls’ and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls’ and women’s bathrooms” as important to them.
Additionally, 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was “very important.”
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