Charley Hull Joins Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Roster; Sports and Media Landscape Faces Shifts

LPGA star Charley Hull is set to make her debut in the 2027 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. Hull, who turned professional in 2013, became the youngest European to compete in the Solheim Cup at age 17. Now 30, she has three LPGA Tour victories and reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings.

Hull has also commented on public discourse surrounding advertising, defending Sydney Sweeney's sports betting commercial and dismissing criticism as an overreaction to standard marketing practices. She stated, "The amount of backlash that (it) is getting, I just don't understand the way people's brains work. They're making a big deal out of nothing. It's an actress slash model modeling for an advert. And I think she owns the company as well."

Meanwhile, the sports media landscape is showing signs of viewer fatigue and declining engagement in certain areas. Pat McAfee's alternative broadcast of Monday Night Football reportedly saw a significant drop in viewership. The article suggests this may indicate a broader "alt-broadcast fatigue" rather than specific host fatigue, questioning the necessity of multiple broadcast options for a single game.

This trend appears to be mirrored in NASCAR, where a recent playoff race at Phoenix drew only 1.2 million viewers. The article notes that a majority of NASCAR's top series races have moved to cable or streaming platforms, a strategy that may be contributing to the decline in viewership.

The discussion also touches on the ongoing debates surrounding national anthem protocols in sports. The author expresses a sense of weariness with the recurring controversies, questioning the level of public interest in these discussions in 2027.