Crystal

NWSL’s lack of gender eligibility policy leaves players vulnerable – just not in the way you think An op-ed from Angel City midfielder Elizabeth Eddy called for "a clear standard" to address a problem that doesn't currently exist.

The NWSL's silence on its gender eligibility approach has invited harassment of players — and now, an op-ed from a current player calling for "a clear standard" to address a problem that doesn't exist.

Statements from NWSL, NWSLPA & thoughts from me @theathletic.com
www.nytimes.com/athletic/675...

At PayPal you say? 🤔🤔🤔 I might be able to help with that.

Allergic to money. Sounds about right

So you’re the one that jinked it.

Statements are among my least favorite parts of being in leadership.

I am so sick of these people OBSESSED with this notion that trans people in sports is some kind of existential threat. It is so harmful to the players who don’t fit their arbitrary gender standards. This vile drivel is embarrassing for anyone, let alone an NWSL player. Disappointed and disgusted.

gene testing and ruling out CIS WOMEN WHO ARE INTERSEX (which is explicitly what liz eddy is asking for in this thing) will destroy women’s sports. straight up. if you turn this stone over hoping to reinforce the sex binary you will not like what you find underneath

She knew what she was doing by writing for the Post. She knew her words would be used to target players like Banda, Kundananji, and Chawinga. She's a bigot who is calling for invasive testing to "solve a problem" that doesn't exist. Its racist transphobic bullshit and has no place in this league

every time a photo of barbra banda is used for some disingenuous gender fuckery it's in part because the league has signaled that it's unwilling to speak up for or protect her in any way

All of this bullshit and there isn’t even a single trans person playing in the NWSL. That’s how you know this is rooted in racism.

1) this is all white supremacist bullshit in response to some amazing players that have recently come into the league. And also because racists love to be racist

2) Trans people rule and deserve to play sports

3) fuck Elizabeth Eddy

Hey, Jessica, this is a player safety issue. I don't know if you know that, but no policy makes it open season on the league. Especially for players like Barbra, Temwa, Rachel, Prisca, etc

Our game doesn’t need gatekeepers. It needs champions and advocates and that means standing for every player who makes it what it is.

Im not gonna link to that article because I’m uninterested in amplifying the outlet, story or player that wrote it. But a reminder: trans women are women and advocating for women’s rights while excluding a group of women is exactly the kind of divisive rhetoric that is driving hate in this country

And look what’s already happening on the bad place app. Hoping the NWSL will quickly and immediately shut this shit down and protect its players

we have non-binary players in the league, but to the best of my recollection the pathetic cries for gender standards (the fuck is that) didn’t start until the women who don’t fit the feminine western appearances started kicking ass and taking names.

Also, protect Barbra Banda, and Temwa Chawinga, and anyone else who doesn’t fit white femininity or white feminism at all costs. Even their own literal colleagues in the league apparently.

Eddy has a new teammate who is Black and from Zambia, who is open about being intersex (assigned female at birth/not trans) and people thinking she's male because of what she wears.

Between that and them sharing the bench/competing for minutes, hard not to see this as a very mean personal attack.

I would also like to shout from the roof tops that this anti-trans panic and propaganda disproportionally affects Black and brown women

They're going to use these talking points to go after all the African players. When they're done with that, they'll go after the rest of the Black players. Because transphobia is white supremacy. They're racist bigots. If people like Liz Eddy had a leg to stand on, she wouldn't run to the Post

Can people just leave trans people alone, especially career benchwarmers?

Now, you don’t need to spend a decade making the most thoroughly researched and informative podcast on the subject to tell you that people who want gender testing in the NWSL are morally creepy and scientifically wrong, but it just so happens someone already did:

www.tested-podcast.com

In addition to any moral or competitive arguments,

1. This is a fake problem. There aren't any trans women in NWSL. There aren't any trans women in the immediate pipeline that I'm aware of.

2. Using Banda for the cover photo here is obviously just extremely racist.

National Women’s Soccer League must adopt gender standards to keep growing Recent controversies across women’s sports — from swimming to track and field — have highlighted professional soccer lacks clear eligibility policies, unlike a growing number of other competitions.…

Deeply disappointed in Liz Eddy here, who I've always liked and respected. A reminder that we have a lot of work to do when it comes to educating the public about why trans inclusion isn't just morally correct, but competitively sound share.google/Gjf9a1Sl01eL...

Time to reset the "days since an Angel City player revealed themselves to be an asshole" counter, I guess.

This is some bullshit on SEVERAL different levels. It conveniently ignores the former openly trans NWSL players because it doesn’t fit the anti-trans/“save women’s sports” propaganda and fuels the hatred towards Black women who play in the NWSL (it wasn’t just Banda who was targeted by those people)

Following Arena's response to the question on club culture, I asked if the fact that John Fisher has put the San Jose Earthquakes franchise up for sale has had an impact on team and it's ability to be competitive in MLS. His response:

Here's a view of the expanded training field, with the newer half in the foreground. The team is still waiting for its use permit to be issued, so it will likely be after the season before it can be used.

The San Jose Earthquakes still have everything to play for this Saturday against Austin FC, but the season postmortems are starting to be discussed. After training today, head coach Bruce Arena was asked about how the culture of the club has changed since he took over ahead of the 2025 MLS season.

Pretty clear Stephen Miller, Noem, Hegseth and Trump are trying to provoke a Civil War at this point. What's interesting is they want to do it now, because even though they're unpopular, they seem to believe this is the most popular they'll be ever again. We can't let them win.

This is a breathtaking abuse of the law and power by the President of the United States.

America is on the brink of martial law.

Do not be silent.