// JD Sports removes image of a woman wearing Scotland shirt
// The woman is featured wearing ripped jeans showing off her thighs
// JD has apologised over complaints the image was “sexist”
JD Sports has removed a marketing image of a woman that was met with complaints of sexism.
The image on the sports retailer’s website showed a woman in a Scottish jersey with ripped jeans showing off her thighs while sitting with her legs apart, while other photos advertised male kits displaying men and boys in athletic wear.
Twitter user Simon Kemp spotted this while out buying kits for his children and raised the issue with the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and JD Sports, the official Scotland strip retailer.
Kemp took his complaints to Twitter, which went viral.
“@ScottishFA Looking forward to taking my kids to the Women’s World Cup and thought I would buy new shirts for us all,” he tweeted.
“So please explain why the official seller @JDSports has presented the boys and men as athletes, yet the female model is more “traditional” #everydaysexism.”
He added: “@ScottishFA And by the way, my daughter plays football too, as do thousands of girls. What kind of example does this set for them? @JDSports”
.@ScottishFA Looking forward to taking my kids to the Women's World Cup and thought I would buy new shirts for us all. So please explain why the official seller @JDSports has presented the boys and men as athletes, yet the female model is more "traditional" #everydaysexism pic.twitter.com/V2XsVKHiri
— Simon Kemp (@skempleton) February 4, 2019
The SFA called for JD Sports to remove the image, which it did, and both organisations apologised for causing upset.
An SFA spokesman said: “We apologise for any offence that this image caused. As soon as this was brought to our attention we contacted JD Sports to request its removal, which JD Sports immediately acted upon.
“At the Scottish FA, we are absolutely committed to further strengthening equality and diversity in Scottish football and promoting the girls’ and women’s game across the nation.”
A JD Sports spokesman said: “We occasionally test alternative product styles online to appeal to the full range of customers who visit our site, from those interested in high fashion and athleisure, to sportspeople and football fans looking for kits and training equipment.”
“While the principle images used for this product online were modelled in the traditional sportswear style, an alternative fashion-led image was tested for a short time.
“Following comments from one customer and discussions with the Scottish FA, this image has been removed.
“The product is now only displayed on our sales channels in the traditional style, and our photography guidelines have been reviewed to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
“We remain committed to promoting and supporting the Scotland Women’s teams in the build-up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup this summer, and apologise for any upset this has caused.”
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