On Sunday, September 6, organizer Amy Sousa brought eight fans to a Portland Thorns match. They wore shirts from XX-XY Athletics, a brand that says women's sports should be defined by biological sex. Stadium security removed the group during the game. That night, Sousa and four others went to The Sports Bra, a women's-sports bar in Portland. Staff seated and served them, then asked them to leave once they noticed the shirts. The Washington Spirit beat the Thorns 2-1 on a late goal from forward Trinity Rodman.

1. The Bar Says the Shirts Crossed a Line (The Sports Bra)

The bar says trans inclusion is its whole mission, and the shirts crossed a line it won't budge on.

The shirts themselves were the problem, the bar says. In its Instagram statement, the bar wrote: "Our mission is simple: support, promote, and empower ALL girls and women in sports," and added, "To be clear: Trans girls are girls, and trans women are women. We will always support and celebrate them at The Sports Bra."

The bar blames the shirts, not the people. Staff seated and served the group first. They only asked them to leave after noticing the shirts, saying, "We DO NOT TOLERATE messages or conduct that demean or exclude the very community we exist to serve and celebrate." The bar later added that "the T stands for trans" in its mission.

GO Magazine agrees with the bar and blames the fans instead. Writer Rachel Kiley wrote that the group's back-to-back ejections and immediate posting of video "reeked of attention seeking to people online." One X user replying to Sousa's posts put it more bluntly: "You actively went there to provoke, and you were kicked out as soon as they realized it."

2. This Was Punishment for Saying What a Woman Is (XX-XY Athletics and the ejected fans)

Jennifer Sey and Amy Sousa say the shirts said nothing false, and they got thrown out anyway.

Jennifer Sey says wearing the shirt was the entire offense. The XX-XY Athletics founder wrote: "So basically you can't attend a NWSL Portland Thorns game if you know what a woman is. You don't even have to say it loud. All you have to do it is wear a t-shirt." She added, "What's a girl gotta do to watch a pro women's soccer game??"

Sey says the crowd showed "ideological uniformity," not real inclusion. She said WNBA games have treated her better.

Amy Sousa says the Thorns' official reason is false. She organized the group's outing and disputes that anyone distributed materials: "We did not distribute any materials. We came armed with copies of their own code of conduct and we followed it to the letter. If we 'distributed' anything, they would have it on video. They are lying about us. They have violated our rights." She said she'd covered her XX-XY clothing with a scarf before entering the stadium, and that the Thorns targeted her instead for "political beliefs I speak about online."

3. The Thorns Say It Was a Rules Violation (Portland Thorns)

The club says it removed the group for breaking a rule, not for the message on the shirts.

The Thorns blame a rule violation, not the shirts. A team spokesperson said: "Individuals were removed from Providence Park for distributing unapproved materials, a violation of the Fan Experience Guidelines at the stadium. Our priority remains fostering a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for every fan at Providence Park."

The club says the investigation is still open. The Thorns said the incident is still under investigation. They issued the group a formal Code of Conduct notice giving them 72 hours to respond, warning that not responding could mean a ban from future events.

Sousa directly disputes the "unapproved materials" claim. She says the group only had five printed copies of the NWSL and stadium codes of conduct, shared only within their own seated party and never handed to other fans. She also says a stadium employee told the group that someone had already flagged the shirts as "transphobic" — a detail she says traces back to an LGBT organizer, Hannah Perry, who'd messaged her before the game hoping she wouldn't be let in. The Thorns haven't confirmed that account.

Where This Lands

The Sports Bra says the shirts' message itself was the problem and that its mission doesn't bend on trans inclusion. Sey and Sousa say the real offense was holding a view on women's sports, and that the Thorns' cited reason doesn't match what actually happened in the stands. The Thorns say they removed the group for a Fan Experience Guidelines violation, not for the shirts, and that the investigation is still open. Sousa's account and the Thorns' account can't both be true about what materials, if any, were handed out that day.

Sources