The Tampa Bay Buccaneers say their "RED Women's Movement," unvieled Thursday morning, is bold and new, but others, including the team's targeted fan base, aren't so sure. What's so groundbreaking about introducing a program that promotes tired gender roles with flashy marketing, anyway?
Oh… right.
According to a statement posted on the Bucs website, the movement aims to bring women closer to the game through "creative culinary creations," as well as "original design projects" and "fashion-forward team apparel." The educational aspect of RED includes a football word of the week and Pinterest tips. Yes!
And yeah, sure. The campaign's launch party will feature appearances from Bucs legends, but lifestyle sessions on other topics, namely tailgating, entertaining at home and game-day fashion, are also planned highlights. Here are some Twitter responses inspired by the movement:
.@TBBuccaneers I'm all for embracing your female fans but if you're going to focus on apparel, cheerleaders + recipes.. you've got it wrong.
— Ashley (@ashleyerinsell) August 6, 2015
@TBBuccaneers what wrong with this? i don't see the problem
— Eric West (@emwest63) August 6, 2015
@TBBuccaneers I think it's a good idea, people are so quick to be offended not every woman understands the game completely #overit
— Barbara Punderson (@bab34746) August 6, 2015
@DoubleEntAndrew @rich_roberts I understand those two words separately but together? This just isn't making sense
— Daniel Weinman (@dweinman22) August 6, 2015
This article appears in Aug 6-12, 2015.