River Cats ditch offensive rebrand. This is what happens when women speak up | Opinion
Like the crack of a bat on a misjudged pitch, the rapid pushback against the River Cats “alternative identity” as the “Gold Diggers” has prompted the team’s leadership to cancel the rebrand within a day of its launch.
In an email on April 11, an unnamed representative from the River Cats’ marketing team, Sutter Health Park Communications, told The Bee the team would ditch the offensive and misogynistic name.
“Our recent marketing campaign for an alternative identity clearly missed the mark,” the unsigned email said. “Our intention was to creatively reference the rich history of Sacramento and gold country, but our approach was wrong, and we are sorry for the mistake. We will no longer be using this identity.”
Questions sent to Chip Maxson, president and Chief Operating Officer of the River Cats, went unanswered. Sutter Health Park Communications also declined to answer if a public apology would be forthcoming. The team’s website has been scrubbed of any mention of the new identity.
In a video posted to the River Cats YouTube channel on Thursday afternoon, a River Cats player wearing the new Gold Diggers logo walked through the streets of Old Sac where he bumped into two women who ogled him with super-imposed dollar signs in their eyes — very clearly making women the punchline of the team’s joke.
The backlash from the community — particularly from elected female officials in the cities of West Sacramento and Sacramento — was immediate.
“I appreciate the time (the River Cats) took to reflect on the inappropriate marketing campaign and make the right decision to remove it,” said Sacramento City Councilwoman Lisa Kaplan, who was one of the first to flag the marketing video on her social media. “I hope moving forward the River Cats make sure that a diverse and inclusive group of individuals are consulted before new marketing campaigns are released.”
“We are better as a society when we work together to uplift everyone and don’t market at the negative expense of others,” Kaplan added.
West Sacramento Mayor Pro Tem Verna Sulpizio Hull said removing the “inappropriate and harmful” Gold Diggers name “was the right decision.”
“I respect the organization’s leadership for acknowledging their mistake and choosing to end the campaign,” she wrote in a statement. “Admitting when something is wrong is not always easy but it’s necessary and in this case, it was the responsible and respectful thing to do.”
This goes to show, as if women needed any more proof of it: Speaking up works.
It is more important now than perhaps ever before in our lifetime to push back against this kind of offensive behavior, even though we see misogyny nearly every day from some of our leaders in this country.
Women can and should expect more — not only from public entities like the River Cats, but also from the people in our own lives. We deserve to be treated as equals, full stop; and it’s mind-boggling that we still have to make that argument in 2025. Narratives that lean on outdated, harmful and sexist stereotypes have no place here, and Sacramento’s women made that clear in the last 24 hours.
This situation is exactly why it’s critical to include a diverse community in decisions, especially in leadership and creative spaces. By ditching the derogatory “Gold Diggers” name, the River Cats (and their parent company, the Sacramento Kings) will take a financial hit. Maybe — just maybe! — that’s enough of a stinging lesson that they’ll remember it next time.
This story was originally published April 11, 2025 at 2:03 PM.
