The wider culture-war debate surrounding women’s sports in the United States has reached professional soccer, after several fans wearing “XX-XY” apparel were removed from a National Women’s Soccer League match.
The episode took place at Providence Park on Sunday, September 6, during the Portland Thorns’ match against the Washington Spirit.
According to those involved, a group of eight fans wearing XX-XY Athletics clothing, along with shirts carrying slogans including “Save Women’s Sports,” “Woman,” and “Girls just wanna have fundamental rights,” were approached by stadium security shortly after sitting down.
The confrontation comes as tensions continue to rise across women’s sports, echoing recent disputes in the WNBA in which fans at games involving the Indiana Fever and Atlanta Dream were reportedly told to cover similar apparel.
After the group was escorted out, a Portland Thorns spokesperson said the removal was not related to the slogans on the shirts, but instead stemmed from the alleged distribution of “unauthorized materials” inside the stadium.
A group of fans say they were removed from a recent Portland Thorns NWSL match after wearing “XX-XY” T-shirts
The incident unfolded during the Portland Thorns’ game against the Washington Spirit
The group posted this image of a statement they said was provided by Portland Thorns security
‘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,’ the Thorns spokesperson stated to OutKick.
‘Our priority remains fostering a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for every fan at Providence Park.’
The spokesperson added that the situation remains under active investigation by the organization.
However, group member Amy Sousa fiercely pushed back against the club’s narrative, accusing the franchise of fabricating the justification to mask political censorship.
‘We did not distribute any materials. We came armed with copies of their own code of conduct and we followed it to the letter,’ Sousa insisted. ‘They are lying about us.
‘They have violated our rights. My group was targeted for political beliefs I speak about online.’
Sousa claimed that she brought five printed copies of the NWSL and Providence Park codes of conduct strictly to share within her group after a local activist alerted her that stadium officials had been notified of their planned attendance.
‘We only shared them to our own group while seated facing each other. We only brought five,’ she added. ‘If we “distributed” anything, they would have it on video. And our XX/XY clothes were not visible when we arrived.’
Amy Sousa shared pictures of herself at the game, wearing the XX-XY apparel
After leaving the game, the group were then allegedly kicked out of a local sports bar
The group then claim they were kicked out of a women’s sports bar in Portland, because they were wearing shirts that made others ‘uncomfortable’.
Sousa and four other patrons walked into The Sports Bra in Northeast Portland on Sunday, but were soon denied service after staff noticed their ‘pro-women’ clothing, KOIN reported.
Sousa, a self-described ‘gender abolitionist,’ went on to share the recorded moment on social media.
A blond-haired waitress with glasses and a nose ring approached the group after they were served their meals, the clip showed.
‘There are people that are in here that are uncomfortable with those shirts, and so I’m asking y’all to leave,’ the female server told them.
‘If I have to call authorities to get y’all removed, I will, but I don’t want to do that,’ the waitress added.
The confrontation at Providence Park mirrors an escalating culture war within the WNBA, which was sparked after Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham advocated for ‘protecting young girls’ from biological men in the changing rooms.
Her stance quickly ignited a fierce national debate across women’s basketball, drawing both sharp criticism and a wave of vocal support from conservative groups.
Since then, the league has been engulfed in drama following a number of protests and organized demonstrations at Fever games throughout the season.
The incident mirrors the ongoing drama in the WNBA, sparked by Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham after she advocated for ‘protecting young girls’ from ‘biological men’ in sport
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Supporters of Cunningham have repeatedly clashed with arena security after showing up in XX-XY Athletics apparel and ‘Save Women’s Sports’ merchandise.
Tensions boiled over during a recent matchup between the Fever and the Atlanta Dream, where a mother and daughter were ordered by security to cover up their XX-XY t-shirts under threat of ejection.
The incident prompted intense backlash online, eventually forcing the WNBA to publicly admit that arena security staff in Atlanta had acted improperly by ordering the pair to hide their clothing.
The ongoing controversy took another bizarre turn when former NBA center and outspoken activist Enes Kanter Freedom announced he was officially declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft.
