Group of fans kicked out of Portland Thorns NWSL match over pro-women apparel labeled 'transphobic'
Eight fans ejected from Providence Park over “pro‑women” apparel
An eight‑person group, led by Portland Thorns supporter Amy E. Sousa, was escorted out of Providence Park on Sunday during the NWSL match between the Thorns and the Washington Spirit. The fans had worn shirts from the athletic apparel brand XX‑XY Athletics, which featured slogans such as “Save Women’s Sports,” “Girl’s just wanna have fundamental rights,” “Woman,” and “It’s common sense.” According to footage released by the group, security staff confronted the group in their seats and issued a notice of “infraction” before sending them out of the stadium.
The notice, which was handed to the group on a card, warned that the venue had the right to impose penalties and that refusal to provide personal information could result in a ban from all future Providence Park events. The card gave staff up to 72 hours to contact the fans about additional penalties. The group later claimed that no disturbance had occurred and that they had not even displayed the shirts. “We did nothing. We had not even shown our shirts. We were dressed like this when ejected,” Sousa told a social‑media audience on X.
The incident comes after a social‑media post by Hannah Perry, an organizer of a local LGBT group, in which she threatened to involve Portland police, the mayor, and state governor Tina Kotek to intervene at the city‑owned stadium. Perry also warned that she was contacting Providence Park directly to demand that the group be removed, calling Sousa a “pathetic excuse of a human being.” The message was sent to Sousa on Facebook the day before the match.
The Portland Thorns operate out of Providence Park, a city‑owned venue that is managed by a private company. The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) fan code of conduct prohibits the display of signs, symbols, words or imagery used for political campaigning or advocacy, but the league and venue rules do not specify an objective standard for what constitutes “political expression.” Enforcement has therefore largely rested with the discretion of stadium staff.
Sousa had previously attended a WNBA game at the Moda Center in Portland, where the same XX‑XY Athletics shirts were shown on the arena’s large jumbotron during the live broadcast. She had also noted that she had not taken the prior social‑media warnings seriously, saying, “I didn’t take it seriously… I was like, what are they going to do? Arrest us for watching soccer?” The contrast between her experience at the Moda Center and the ejection at Providence Park has fueled criticism of the Thorns’ enforcement practices.
Requests for comment from Providence Park’s venue management, the Portland Thorns organization, and NWSL league headquarters have not yet been returned. The incident raises broader questions about the policing of fan apparel in publicly owned stadiums and the extent to which security actions cross the line from safety measures into possible overreach of free‑speech rights.