On Thursday, the Sacramento River Cats, the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, introduced a temporary alternative brand for the “Gold Diggers.” However, by Friday, they announced they would no longer pursue it due to significant backlash from the community after a promotional video full of sexist tropes was shared on their social media accounts. The video has since been removed.
In their statement to SFGate, the team acknowledged, “Our recent marketing campaign for an alternative identity clearly missed the mark. 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.”
The plan was for the Triple-A team to wear uniforms themed around the Gold Rush era five times during the season, starting April 19, which included a bearded man in a headlamp holding a pickaxe. However, the announcement video highlighted a different, controversial interpretation of the Gold Diggers name. “On Thursday, the team unveiled the alternate branding via a promotional video that leaned into another meaning of ‘gold digger,’ depicting two women with cartoon dollar signs in their eyes at seeing the new Gold Diggers uniform and hat,” wrote SFGate’s Alex Simon. One of the women was significantly younger than her apparent husband, suggesting a problematic narrative following their visit to a jewelry store.
A write-up in the Sacramento Bee described the branding as a “double-entendre that brings playful and cheeky elements” to the team’s identity. This drew disgust from multiple city councilmembers in Sacramento and West Sacramento. A Sacramento Bee opinion column by Robin Epley referred to the branding as a “misogynistic joke on women,” stating that the video revealed what the River Cats leadership thinks of women.
River Cats president and COO Chip Maxson discussed the branding on KMAX-TV’s “GoodDay Sacramento” morning show, insisting that the team is “all about having fun.” Meanwhile, SFGate’s Kimberly Alters, who initially covered the video, reached out to the team but received no response. By Friday morning, all references to the Gold Diggers theme had disappeared from the team’s social media accounts and website.
The video and accompanying commentary from Epley can still be found on the Sacramento Bee website.
