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.

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Boston NWSL club misses the mark with BOS Nation FC and marketing campaign

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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)

NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani perked up when he heard his name.

“I told him,” Dodgers backup catcher Austin Barnes said after Ohtani’s three-run moonshot iced an 8-0 victory over the Mets in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, “hit the ball over the fence.”

“Not bad advice,” Ohtani said.

Barnes clapped his hands three times. “Like, ‘Today, man, over the fence.’”

Ohtani beamed as he dressed to leave the ballpark, two victories away from the World Series.

“Good coaching,” Ohtani said.

The game is not that easy for Ohtani. But sometimes he can make it look so, as he did in the eighth inning Wednesday, hitting a ball that looked capable of landing in Flushing Bay if the second deck of Citi Field had not gotten in the way.

The home run ushered a procession of Mets fans to the exits, extended Ohtani’s bizarre postseason splits and eased the tension for manager Dave Roberts. The Dodgers arrived in Queens this week hoping to sneak through three consecutive games while using starting pitchers unable to last deep into games. With one swing, Ohtani boosted the lead and protected the bullpen. Roberts did not have to use high-leverage relievers Evan Phillips and Daniel Hudson. With Yoshinobu Yamamoto starting in Game 4, the team should have Phillips and Hudson plus Blake Treinen and Michael Kopech, who combined for two scoreless innings Wednesday, lined up.

“Those things matter,” Roberts said.

This is Ohtani’s first time in the postseason. He has competed under a microscope for much of his professional career, but never before have American audiences studied his at-bats at such a granular level. He contributed two hits in a Game 1 victory and walked twice in a Game 2 defeat. Yet he had made the game seem so simple in the season’s final months — whenever he saw a pitch, he hit it with great force — that every out he made appeared a portent of a lengthy slump.

Roberts has suggested that Ohtani was swinging too often at pitches outside the strike zone. He looked lost against Mets starter Sean Mananea in Game 2. Tuesday, before the Dodgers worked out at Citi Field, Ohtani fended off questions about his confidence and approach. He did not believe he was wilting beneath the postseason glare. He did not consider himself in the midst of a dreadful stretch.

“I do feel OK at the plate,” Ohtani said through his interpreter, Will Ireton. “I do feel like I (can) recall back to the times when I (felt) good and perhaps incorporate that into it.”

Part of the concern stemmed from an odd disparity in his splits. Ohtani has not recorded a hit in 22 at-bats with no one on base, yet he has seven hits in nine at-bats with runners aboard. The difference might matter less for most sluggers, but Ohtani leads off the Dodgers lineup. He used his legs to steal 59 bases during the regular season. He has stolen none in October.

Ohtani insisted Tuesday that this brief lull in his production would not alter his intentions as a hitter. “Regardless of however they are pitching to me, my plan is to stay with the same approach as much as possible and not really be too focused on how they attack me,” he said.

Ohtani made good on that promise in Game 3. He grounded out on the first pitch he saw, a 95 mph fastball from Mets starter Luis Severino. Two innings later, with Severino unable to find the zone, Ohtani took a walk. In the sixth, after Kiké Hernández’s two-run homer, Ohtani flailed as Mets reliever Reed Garrett’s 0-2 cutter dove toward his cleats.

All those at-bats occurred with the bases empty. Ohtani’s fourth did not. He followed Will Smith’s walk and a two-out single by Hernández. Mets reliever Tylor Megill tried to sneak an 0-1 cutter for an inside strike. Ohtani waffled the ball into right field. A collective gasp overtook the 43,883 fans packed inside the ballpark. The statistics do not do the homer justice: 115.9 mph off the bat, at an estimated distance of 397 feet. The ball hooked near the pole, close enough to merit a replay review.

“I don’t know how you would even overturn that,” said third baseman Max Muncy, who reached base in five plate appearances and added a solo shot in the ninth. “The ball was 100 feet over the foul pole. The foul pole’s not tall enough for that one.”

The home run changed the calculus for Robert’s endgame. He had used Treinen, one of his relief aces, to face the bottom of the Mets lineup in the seventh. As the eighth inning began, with the Dodgers up four, Hudson loosened up in the bullpen. If the score remained the same, Treinen would return for the eighth. If the Dodgers added a run, Hudson would pitch. Adding three runs? That allowed Roberts to send rookie Ben Casparius for the final two innings. “The more the runs we score, that makes it easier,” Treinen said.

The bullpen figures to be close to full strength for Game 4. The Dodgers are trying to navigate this series without Mets hitters Francisco Lindor, Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso receiving repeated looks at the same relievers. Thus far, Roberts has succeeded. “The more we can hide guys, keep them from going in, it’s probably ideal,” Hudson said.

Ohtani left the ballpark without speaking to reporters. He did not need to say much. “It was important,” Roberts said, “for Shohei to build some confidence.” His team holds the high ground. His swing silenced a ballpark and saved his bullpen. It also offered a reminder. Even amid this relative downturn in his hitting, Ohtani can inspire awe. That, of course, is not shocking.

(Top photo of Shohei Ohtani: Elsa / Getty Images)

Iga Swiatek, the world No. 1, has hired Wim Fissette as her new head coach.

Fissette, 44, is hugely experienced and is one of the most successful and highly regarded coaches on the WTA Tour. The Belgian has coached former world No. 1 players Naomi Osaka, Kim Clijsters and Angelique Kerber to six Grand Slam titles between them. He has also worked with other former world No. 1s like Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka, taking both to Grand Slam finals.

When Swiatek parted with her long-term coach Tomasz Wiktorowski two weeks ago, The Athletic reported that well-placed sources within the sport were tipping Fissette to be his replacement. Swiatek hinted at this when she said in her statement announcing the split with Wiktorowski that she was in talks with foreign coaches.

Fissette was available after splitting with Osaka, who recently hired Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams’ former coach, as his replacement.

It’s a hugely significant appointment, bringing together the world’s best player with one of the sport’s most well-respected coaches. It’s also an indication of how much Swiatek felt she needed to shake things up after a disappointing second half of the season that’s seen her results and performances dip since winning a fourth French Open, and fifth Grand Slam title, at Roland Garros in June.

Swiatek’s camp confirmed on Thursday that the pair are already working together ahead of the WTA Finals, along with the Pole’s physiotherapist and fitness coach Maciej Ryszczuk, psychologist Daria Abramowicz and hitting partner Tomasz Moczek.

“As you know, I’m preparing for the WTA Finals but my perspective is, as always, long-term, not short-term,” Swiatek said on social media and in a statement sent to The Athletic Thursday October 17.

“I said many times that my career is a marathon for me, not a sprint and I’m working, operating and making decisions with this approach.

“It’s always crucial to try and get to know each other better but we’re off to a good start and I can’t wait to compete soon,” she added.

Fissette added that he was excited to join Swiatek’s group after following her development as a player, as well as coaching his previous charges to face her on court. Fissette was Osaka’s coach during her memorable French Open match against Swiatek last year, in which Osaka held match point and nearly upset the reigning champion.

“She’s been a role model to many players with the intensity and focus she brings to work, so I’m eager to partner as we both continue to build our best selves and chase more dreams. Jazda, Iga!” Fissette said.

Swiatek has spoken a few times of physical and mental exhaustion, and has not played since the U.S. Open due in part to “personal matters”. In that time she has seen her lead as the world No. 1 cut to just 69 points by Aryna Sabalenka, meaning Swiatek will need to outperform her rival at the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia at the start of November to finish the year as the world No 1.

The WTA Finals, which comprises the top-ranked seven players from 2024, plus Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova, starts in Riyadh on Saturday November 2.

(Antonio Borga / Anadolu via Getty Images)