Portland Thorns Match Erupts in Scuffle as 24 Protesters Push Trans Sports Bans
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 29
Portland Thorns Match Erupts in Scuffle as 24 Protesters Push Trans Sports Bans
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 29
Summary
About two dozen activists used a Portland Thorns game last week to spotlight ballot measures that would bar transgender girls and women from school sports, triggering a midgame confrontation with fans.
The group chose general-admission seats beside the Rose City Riveters — the Thorns' politically active supporters' section — and the clash escalated near the field as fans booed, cursed and security moved in.
Brandi Kruse, a conservative Seattle podcaster who joined the protest, said the action was deliberately staged to draw attention to a Washington state initiative covering girls' sports from kindergarten through high school.
The episode unfolded in Portland, a liberal city, and inside the NWSL, a league known for progressive LGBTQ positions, sharpening the broader political fight over transgender participation in women's sports.