Teal MP Zali Steggall criticizes actress Sydney Sweeney's controversial sports betting advertisement as offensive and degrading, particularly for its sexualized portrayal of women. The ad features Sweeney in revealing clothing while promoting various sports and betting on "just sports," drawing significant backlash online. As a former Olympic athlete, Stegall emphasizes the damaging effects such advertisements have on perceptions of female athletes and warns that they exploit young men by linking sex appeal with gambling addiction.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
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stored, so you can find it in the original.
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'Putting her body cheaply on the line' and 'luring men' into gambling away large sums of money.
left criticizes the advertisement for exploiting women's bodies
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'Female athletes have fought for decades to be recognised for what we are: serious, competitive athletes, strong and powerful.'
left supports the idea of female athletes being respected rather than sexualized
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'It uses a woman's body to sell sports betting while reducing women's sport to a sexualised punchline,' she said.
left criticizes the advertisement for degrading women's sports
Leaning score -0.45 for article 10573 (high confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-15
Teal MP Zali Steggall has launched a scathing attack on actress Sydney Sweeney's controversial gambling advertisement, accusing her of 'putting her body cheaply on the line' and 'luring men' into gambling away large sums of money.
asserted
Steggall → launch → money
The Warringah MP and former Olympic skier called the advertisement, which features Sweeney scantily clad while promoting sports betting, 'offensive' and said it sent the wrong message to both young women and men.
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it → call → women
The ad shows Sweeney in little or no clothing while parodying sports such as tennis, golf, baseball and ice hockey before spruiking betting on 'just sports'.
In one scene, she sits topless on a basketball hoop, and in another, she lies topless on a pool table.
Before entering politics, Steggall was one of Australia's leading winter athletes, representing the country at four consecutive Winter Olympics from 1992 to 2002.
She made history at the 1998 Nagano Games, claiming bronze in the slalom and becoming, in her words, the first Australian woman and the first Australian competitor to win an individual Winter Olympic medal.
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She → show → medal
'As a young athlete, I was often in situations that made me uncomfortable, pressured to do sexualised campaigns and show my body in ways that really made me quite uncomfortable and really cheapened me as an athlete,' Steggall said.
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Steggall → make → athlete
'Female athletes have fought for decades to be recognised for what we are: serious, competitive athletes, strong and powerful.
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we → fight → are
'
Stegall slammed the advertising campaign featuring US actress Sydney Sweeney (pictured)
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Stegall → slam → Sweeney
Stegall (pictured) is among a number of women athletes globally crticising the commercial
'
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Stegall → picture → commercial
Steggall said the campaign uses a woman's body to market gambling while diminishing the achievements of female athletes.
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campaign → say → athletes
'It uses a woman's body to sell sports betting while reducing women's sport to a sexualised punchline,' she said.
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she → use → punchline
It's a trope that we need to do away with, and it comes from an industry already aggressively targeting young men through sport to gamble and ruin their lives.
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it → need → lives
The advertisement has racked up millions of views online and sparked widespread backlash from athletes and sporting bodies.
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advertisement → rack → athletes
Steggall questioned who the campaign was intended to attract and what message it sends to young Australians.
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it → question → Australians
'Who profits?
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Who → profit → ?
Who is this being marketed to, and what does it reinforce to young girls watching this?' she said.
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she → market → this
I am strong, I am powerful, I love what my body is capable of.'
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body → love → what
'It doesn't look like what Sydney Sweeney and others show.
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Sweeney → look → what
It comes in all shapes and sizes.'
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It → come → shapes
Zali Stegall (right) won a Bronze Medal at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics in the slalom
Steggall also addressed young men directly, warning that the ad was designed to use sex appeal to drive gambling engagement.
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ad → win → engagement
This is a gambling company trying to lure you using sex to get your attention so you can lose your money,' she said.
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she → try → money
'Women's bodies and women's sport deserve so much better.'
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bodies → deserve → better
Steggall's comments add to a growing chorus of criticism from current and former athletes, including Australian Olympians, who argue the campaign rolls back efforts to have women's sport judged on achievement, not appearance.
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sport → add → achievement
Swimming star Ariarne Titmus called the ad 'an absolute joke' on Instagram.
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Titmus → call → Instagram
The Australian Institute of Sport responded by posting a video of female athletes with the caption 'THIS is sport'.
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THIS → respond → caption
The Aporia
