Soccer
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A Portland Thorns fan says she and others were removed from Providence Park during Saturday’s match against the Washington Spirit after a stadium employee told them he had been made aware of something “transphobic.” She also says she and her group were told to leave the Sports Bra, because they wore clothing that said “XX-XY” on them.
The Portland Thorns said the group was removed because they were distributing unapproved materials, which violates the stadium’s Fan Experience Guidelines.
Amy Sousa said the situation began with a social-media post inviting people to attend the game wearing clothing from XX-XY Athletics, a brand that says sports should be designated on the basis of sex.
“There’s two sexes; there’s men and there’s women,” Sousa said. “And XX-XY Athletics really stands firmly that sports should be designated on the basis of sex.”
Sousa shared a photo of what she wore to the game. She said a scarf covered the XX-XY logo throughout the match, except when she took the photo.
“The scarf was covering it the whole time, except for when I shot that specific picture,” she said.
Sousa said she and her group were later asked to leave the stadium. In a video Sousa recorded, a person who appears to be associated with the stadium can be heard saying he had been made aware of something “transphobic” and that someone had been “giving out information.”
Sousa said she did not know what conduct the employee was referring to.
“We’ve done nothing transphobic,” Sousa said. “We literally brought the code of conduct with us and have followed it to the letter.”
The remainder of the conversation is not audible in the video provided to KATU. Sousa said the employee told the group that someone had called about them.
In a statement, a Thorns spokesperson said:
“During our September 6 match against the Washington Spirit, individuals were removed from Providence Park for distributing unapproved materials, a violation of the Fan Experience Guidelines at the stadium. We are reviewing the incident.”
After the game, Sousa says she and a group went out to Sports Bra, where they were also kicked out.
“At first, they would not give us a reason. At first, we were simply told that they are an inclusive restaurant and bar. And we were like, well, aren’t we included? And they were like, no, your shirts are … transphobic,” said Sousa. “They said our shirts were making someone feel unsafe. Our shirts were making someone feel unsafe.”
Another video from Sousa shows staff with The Sports Bra ask her to leave because other patrons were made uncomfortable by her apparel.
The Sports Bra posted publicly on Instagram after the incident, saying they “support, promote and empower girls and women in sports, and to be clear: Trans girls are girls, and trans women are women.”
The incidents come amid a growing number of protests and debates nationally over whether transgender women — people assigned male at birth who transition to align with their gender identity — should be allowed to play in women’s sports.
According to the NWSL Code of Conduct for fans attending games, they are barred from using “threatening, abusive, or discriminatory words, signs, symbols, or actions based on race, ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, cultural identity, nationality, citizenship status, age, appearance, disability, and/or religion.”
The Thorns lost Sunday’s match to the Spirit, 1 to 2 after Washington came from behind, with Trinity Rodman scoring the game-winning goal in the final minutes.
Back in 2020, several members of the Timbers Army were banned from a few matches after waving flags with the Iron Front, a symbol used in World War II used to represent anti-fascism. The MLS considered the iron front symbol to be political, as it has been appropriated by some in the antifa movement. Similar to the NWSL, anything political was banned from MLS stadiums. However, the league changed part of the wording in its fan conduct section after the incident.
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Read MoreRaleigh Motsinger