Underscoring Dove’s commitment to keep girls in sports, Sports reIllustrated aims to demonstrate that athleticism comes in all shapes, sizes and abilities, and inspire a new generation of girls to embrace their individuality and pursue their passions with confidence. The special edition coincides with Dove’s Big Game spot, and brings attention to the Dove Body Confident Sport program, a scientifically proven coaching tool to build body confidence in 11-17-year-old girls and keep girls thriving in sports.

“At Dove, we know the prevalence of body talk in sports – which often focuses on appearance over ability – harms girls’ body confidence. With 48% of girls who drop out of sports being told they have the wrong body type,* it’s time to inspire change, not just in how we see young athletes, but in how we speak to them,” said Marcela Melero, Chief Growth Officer, Dove Personal Care North America. “As the leader in self-esteem and body confidence education, Dove is excited to partner with a major titan in sports media to change the game and help give girls the confidence they need to thrive playing the sports they love.”

“As a publication deeply committed to storytelling that showcases the power and impact athletes at all levels can have, Sports Illustrated is proud to partner with Dove, a brand dedicated to championing girls and women of all ages,” shared Stephen Cannella, Editor in Chief of Sports Illustrated. “By re-illustrating what it looks like to be an athlete, we hope we can inspire readers to rethink how we see and support the young athletes in our lives.”

Spotlighting athletes from across Dove’s network of Body Confident Sport partners, including Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Women’s Sports Foundation, the magazine celebrates the stories of 10 young female athletes across the US, inspiring a new generation of girls to embrace their individuality and pursue their passions with confidence.

Alongside Honor Smoke, this special edition includes:

• Ja’Nor Elzie , 12-year-old basketball player from Slidell, LA
• Liana Chan, 11-year-old ice hockey player from New York, NY
• Carmen Wilkey, 12-year-old track and field athlete from Severance, CO
• Pepper Persley, 13-year-old basketball player from New York, NY
• Lala Scholl, 12-year-old soccer player from New Orleans, LA
• Noelani Spicer, 12-year-old track and field para-athlete from San Antonio, TX
• Julia Dinar, 13-year-old fencer from Brooklyn, NY
• Calyx Watkins, 14-year-old basketball player from Detroit, MI
• Krin Brown, 13-year-old lacrosse player from Philadelphia, PA

To support its 2025 Body Confident Sport initiatives, and inspire young athletes to feel more confident playing the sports they love, Dove has assembled an all-star squad of influential female voices in sports. New and long-time partners of this “Body Confident Collective” include:  

• Billie Jean King, sports icon and equality champion
• Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty guard
• Venus Williams, tennis champion, entrepreneur and philanthropist
• Kylie Kelce, field hockey athlete and coach
• Tara Davis-Woodhall, Olympic long jump gold medalist
• Odessa Jenkins, founder of the Women’s National Football Conference
• Emma Navarro, American tennis star  

Learn how to help #KeepHerConfident in sports at Dove.com/confidentsports or on social @Dove. All Dove product purchases also help support girls in sports**.

Contact: 
Nimra Butt
[email protected]

About the Research

* Dove and Nike have commissioned this survey to expose the reality of girls’ experience in sports and the impact it has on their confidence, as well as the drivers behind girls dropping out and potential solutions. We asked 4,917 children of different ages, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and US to take part in a 15-minute online survey.

The study included 3,506 girls aged between 9-17 years old (approximately 500 from each country) and 1,391 boys aged 9-17 years old (approximately 200 from each country) who had the consent of a parent or legal guardian to take part.

About the Dove Self-Esteem Project

Dove is the largest self-esteem education provider in the world, offering no-cost, academically validated tools to parents, teachers, mentors, and kids for nearly two decades with the Dove Self-Esteem Project. To date, Dove has reached more than 114 million young people globally across 153 countries with DSEP, with a goal of reaching 250M young lives by 2030.

About Dove

Dove started its life in 1957 in the US, with the launch of the Beauty Bar, with its patented blend of mild cleansers and ¼ moisturizing cream. Dove’s heritage is rooted in care – proof, not promises grew Dove from a Beauty Bar into one of the world’s most beloved beauty brands.

Real women have always been our inspiration, and since the beginning, Dove has been wholly committed to providing superior care to all, and to championing real representations of beauty in our advertising, communications, and campaigns. Dove believes that beauty is for everyone, and the Dove mission is to ensure a positive experience with beauty is universally accessible to all.

For 67 years, Dove has been committed to broadening the narrow definition of beauty in the work they do. This includes the ‘Dove Real Beauty Pledge,’ and commitment to:

1. Portray women as they are in real life with honesty, diversity, and respect. We feature women of different ages, sizes, ethnicities, hair color, type, and style.

2. Represent individuals with zero digital distortion, with all images approved by the women they feature.

3. Help young people build body confidence and self-esteem through the Dove Self-Esteem Project, the biggest provider of self-esteem education in the world with a goal to educate 250 million young people by 2030.

About Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated (SI) is the trusted voice for a changing sports landscape. With 70 years of excellence in sports journalism under its belt, SI is the essential destination for fans looking for expert coverage of the games and athletes they love most. SI has evolved alongside the sports it covers, building on a legacy of unassailable content, while innovating to reflect what’s next in sports and culture. Through impactful digital coverage, an award-winning magazine and high-profile experiential activations, SI continues to provide fans the best in sports storytelling. For more information, visit SI.com.

Follow Sports Illustrated on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.

**For every item purchased at Walmart from Jan. 1 – Feb. 28, 2025, Dove will donate $0.05 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and for every item purchased at other retailers Dove will donate $0.05 to Boys & Girls Clubs of America, with a minimum donation of $200,000 and maximum of $250,000 at each retailer, respectively.

SOURCE Dove