Topline
The latest National Women’s Soccer League expansion team debuted in Boston Tuesday and faced a surge of criticism over its name, Bos Nation (“worst name possible,” complained one), and a campaign that jokingly tweaked the city’s history of famous sports teams by complaining it has “too many balls”—which was slammed as male-centered and possibly transphobic.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at a kickoff celebration for NWSL’s Boston franchise.
Key Facts
The new Boston-based team had its name revealed in an early CBS News report Monday and the choice, Bos Nation, an anagram of Bostonian, was immediately met with a negative reaction only compounded by the team’s official announcement and rollout video Tuesday.
The one-minute video, shared across the team’s social media accounts, says Boston’s legacy is filled with “Trophies, banners, rings and balls. Old Balls. New Balls. Steel Balls. Cold Balls. Even Goat Balls,” a claim accompanied by a clip of former Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady, often called the Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T.), saying “wait, what?”
The video then goes on to say, “Maybe there are too many balls in this town,” and suggests a new NWSL team could “add a new chapter to our city’s legacy.”
The website’s rollout was initially accompanied by the URL “toomanyballs.com,” which linked back to the official NWSL Boston website, but that domain appears to have been taken down, and a $35 T-shirt with the slogan “too many balls” has also been removed from the team’s online store.
The announcement was criticized by fans on social media for its overall tone, but also caught the attention of professional athletes including non binary and transgender Seattle Reign player Quinn, who called it transphobic and said it “doesn’t represent the league and is such poor messaging.”
Bos Nation controlling owner Jennifer Epstein told reporters the “whole intent behind the brand was to be inclusionary” and that the team takes the criticisms seriously.
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Chief Critics
Among those who slammed the rollout was NWSL Players Association director Meghann Burke, who told The Athletic she didn’t expect the team to be “so unserious.” “I’m holding out hope that this is an elaborate and ingenious joke and that the real team name and campaign telling us what they’re really about will be rolled out soon,” she said. Meg Linehan, who covers the National Women’s Soccer League for the outlet, called it “the worst NWSL launch I’ve ever seen in the history of the league,” adding, “the most insulting part is how much time they’ve had to release something this bad” (the team was officially announced more than a year ago). On social media, reactions from NWSL fans and players were swift and overwhelmingly negative. Racing Louisville FC player Bethany Balcer tweeted, “They’re gonna delete that video….right???” USA Today sports writer Meghan Hall posted, “Everything I have learned about Bos Nation feels like a giant misstep.” One user on X asked, “Why are we making our NWSL announcement about men?” and another said “If you hired me as a consultant tasked with coming up with the worst name possible for the Boston women’s soccer team I don’t think I’d even have the balls to submit BOS Nation as one of the options.” At the team’s launch party Tuesday, one person carried a cardboard sign reading, “No home for transphobia.”
Key Background
Boston had a professional women’s soccer team called the Boston Breakers from 2009 until the Women’s Professional Soccer league folded in early 2012. The Breakers then joined the NWSL and played from 2013 to 2017. It was announced in September 2023 that Boston would get a new NWSL team and earlier this year news broke that Utah and San Francisco would also be part of the league expansion to start in 2026. Bos Nation is owned by the all-female Boston Unity Soccer Partners group and investors include Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman and actress Elizabeth Banks. It was reported the Boston franchise paid about $50 million in fees to the NWSL to join. The team will play home matches in White Stadium in Franklin Park, which will get millions in upgrades ahead of opening day. No logo has been revealed for the team, but its main color will be “Championship Green” with accents of “Relentless Raspberry, Loyal Charcoal, Daring Pink, Rise Yellow and Orange Press, which speak to the rich diversity of Boston’s neighborhoods and the team’s values and signal a new era in the city’s sports landscape.”
