The New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Timberwolves recently made headlines with public pledges on X to avoid using AI for graphics or illustrations. The sports world cheered. But here's the thing: I didn't.

I get the instinct. Authenticity matters—especially in sports, where fans crave genuine connections with their teams. But blanket rejections of AI as a creative tool don't protect that authenticity. They confuse the tool with the outcome. And that confusion is giving AI-adopting organizations a serious competitive edge.

Let's talk about that "Made with AI" label on X. It feels like a scarlet letter for the digital age, implying something isn't real. But here's the reality: a graphic created with AI assistance isn't fake. It's the result of a human idea, human direction, and human creative judgment. When executed with a powerful tool, the outcome can be even better. Calling it fake is like calling a photograph fake because a camera was involved.

Think about it. Imaging producers have used Adobe Audition for years to enhance sound design. Graphic designers rely on Photoshop and Canva to create stronger visuals. Editors use Final Cut Pro and Premiere to craft better videos. Each of these tools expanded what was creatively possible. None of them replaced the human at the helm.

AI is the same kind of leap forward. It's more powerful and transformative, sure, but the principle remains: the creativity still belongs to the person driving it. If you don't train your model properly or use the right prompts, the final product will fall flat. That means education, experimentation, and a creative brain are still essential to standing out in a crowded field.

The broader business world already gets this. Take Beehiiv CEO Tyler Denk, for example. He built one of the fastest-growing newsletter platforms around, and he recently shared that the best decision he made this year was connecting his entire business to Claude. He didn't build a media technology company by fearing the tools reshaping his industry. He used them to strengthen his business.

The lesson for sports teams? Embracing AI doesn't mean losing your soul. It means using every tool in the playbook to connect with fans in more creative, impactful ways. The teams that figure this out won't just survive—they'll thrive.