Women’s Soccer Faces Plenty Of Serious Threats. So Why The Panic About Trans Players? | Lesley Ryder

On 26 October, Angel City FC’s Elizabeth Eddy made her first station connected X successful astir 2 years. In it, Eddy successful principle responded to nan Guardian’s study that nan NWSL had quietly dropped its inclusion argumentation for trans and intersex athletes, leaving nan league’s early stance connected nan matter undecided.

The New York Post gave Eddy’s penning a awesome boost nan adjacent day, republishing it successful full.

“I’m concerned that without clarity astir who nan convention is for, it will suffer its personality and its momentum,” Eddy wrote successful nan piece, which broadly advocated for a prohibition connected trans athletes from nan NWSL, to protect “the integrity of women’s sports” truthful nan convention does not suffer “its personality and its momentum.”

It’s unclear really Eddy thinks nan NWSL’s integrity has been harmed – either nether its erstwhile argumentation that allowed trans athletes successful nan league, aliases its existent deficiency of one. The league, now successful its 13th season, has developed a clear identity. It’s highly competitive. It’s commercially and culturally powerful. It’s, well, an integral portion of nan world women’s shot scene. The league’s momentum appears to beryllium mostly fine, excessively – to prime conscionable 2 information points, viewership has grown each season, and successful 2026 nan convention will grow to 16 teams, astir doubling its size successful nan past 5 years.

Eddy cites nan English FA’s recent ban connected transgender athletes from women’s shot arsenic a occurrence story. Yet England’s ban is believed to impact only 20 aliases truthful grassroots players retired of 5.5 cardinal registered athletes. There’s logic to judge nan effect would beryllium likewise negligible present successful nan US. In 2021, erstwhile nan league’s trans inclusion argumentation took effect, nan NWSL had two trans players: Quinn and Kumi Yokoyama. Both person since left, and nary retired trans players presently play successful nan league. On nan 2025 season’s opening weekend, nan convention welcomed its 1,000th player. That’s conscionable 2 retired trans players retired of complete 1,000 successful convention history.

Eddy’s portion is written arsenic if location is simply a pipeline of trans players group to return complete nan convention astatine a moment’s notice. There is nary specified thing. There are presently nary retired trans players competing astatine a master level successful nan United States. Federal authorities expressly prohibits trans players from competing successful NCAA assemblage soccer. And speech from each that, aggregate peer-reviewed studies person shown that trans athletes person nary biologic advantages complete cis athletes.

In nan absence of retired trans people, transphobic attacks person continued on group lines. When nan Orlando Pride’s Barbra Banda was named nan BBC’s subordinate of nan year, a activity of online maltreatment followed. The NWSL was painfully slow to enactment successful support of their prima player. The Kansas City Current’s Temwa Chawinga and her sister Tabitha person knowledgeable akin abuse. It’s each derived either from nan fraught world of gender testing standards, nan players not looking outwardly feminine capable to some, aliases immoderate operation of some those factors.

In her piece, Eddy does negociate to place that location is harm successful legislating bodies successful this way, saying “This uncertainty serves nary one, arsenic questions and contention abound complete intersex and transgender athletes.”

But she doesn’t look to recognize really her op-ed further enables those harms. As Suzanne Wrack put it successful nan Guardian earlier this year: “What nan hysteria complete an almost intolerable hypothetical business does is unfastened nan doorway for transphobic and racist targeting of female shot players and creates an situation that makes trans people, young trans people, aliases those questioning their gender personality astatine grassroots level consciousness arsenic if they don’t beryllium successful shot aliases sport.”

This harm is exponentially accrued by nan New York Post’s shameful determination to tally Eddy’s op-ed pinch a photograph of Banda, who for illustration galore athletes of colour are often targeted by transphobic attacks. And Eddy’s ain teammates cognize it.

“That article does not speak for this squad successful this locker room,” Angel City FC skipper Sarah Gorden told reporters connected Thursday. “We don’t work together pinch nan things written for a plethora of reasons, but mostly nan undertones travel crossed arsenic transphobic and racist arsenic well. The article calls for familial testing connected definite players, and it has a photograph of an African subordinate arsenic a headline. And that’s very harmful. As a mixed woman, pinch a Black family, I’m devastated by nan undertones of this article … And location are players successful this convention and successful this locker room that are straight harmed by what was written successful nan article.”

Even if 1 were to disregard each that and judge that trans inclusion constitutes a existent problem for nan NWSL, it’s difficult to spot really it would outrank immoderate number of different issues that person really blunted nan league’s momentum and affected its integrity.

There are continuing issues astir moving conditions for nan professionals that make nan convention run. Six erstwhile San Diego Wave labor are suing nan nine and nan NWSL alleging, successful part, group and disablement discrimination, intersexual harassment, and negligence to forestall favoritism and intersexual harassment. The Guardian reported nan NWSL denied wrongdoing, saying they had “no work of care” to nan six employees.

There are issues concerning subordinate care. In May, Angel City defender Savy King collapsed connected nan field, requiring emergency aesculapian curen earlier leaving nan section connected a stretcher. On-field play resumed, moreover though players were visibly distraught. The NWSLPA called connected nan convention to revisit their aesculapian protocols. Then, successful August, erstwhile a nationally televised lucifer betwixt nan Orlando Pride and nan KC Current faced an utmost power delay, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman reportedly threatened to good nan Current complete a disagreement successful nan league’s utmost power procedures.

There are much pedestrian, on-field issues too, arsenic European leagues for illustration nan WSL turn successful financial mightiness capable to commencement attracting some of nan NWSL’s champion players distant from nan convention and state wherever they made their careers.

Trans athletes did not facet into immoderate 1 of these issues. And it’s improbable they will, sloppy of whether Eddy’s suggestions travel to pass.