Why Climate Activists Are Protesting Their Favorite Sports Teams

"These firms can see the catastrophic effects of climate change just as clearly as we can. That's why Citigroup gestures at efforts toward "the energy transition" alongside "energy security." Sowing complacency is crucial to keeping fossil fuel extraction going as long as it can. And hitching themselves to sports teams is a strategy as obvious as it is effective."

"According to a 2021 Nielsen study, consumers trust brands that sponsor sporting events almost as much as they trust brands recommended by family and friends. "It works for them very well to put their name on a baseball stadium where people come and have fun," Higgins told me. "There's a lot of fossil fuel financing that's wrecking our world.""

"The Citi Field protesters are part of a nascent movement drawing connections between climate disasters like the Palisades fire, fossil fuel companies, the banks that enable them, and the sports teams who lend their reputations in support. That morning, simultaneous demonstrations at 10 professional sports stadiums across the country protested teams' deals with the likes of Gulf Oil, NRG Energy, and Phillips 66."

Following the January 2025 Pacific Palisades wildfire that destroyed thousands of homes, climate activists organized protests at ten professional sports stadiums nationwide. The demonstrations targeted teams' naming rights deals with fossil fuel companies and major lenders to the industry. Citigroup, the largest lender to fossil fuel companies since the Paris Agreement, sponsors the New York Mets' stadium. Activists argue that sports sponsorships serve as "sportswashing," allowing these companies to build consumer trust and credibility while continuing environmentally destructive practices. The strategy exploits the strong consumer trust associated with sports brands, effectively sowing complacency about climate change while enabling continued fossil fuel extraction.

Read at The Nation