Women’s football faces many serious threats. So why the panic about trans players? | NWSL

OhOn October 26, Angel City FC’s Elizabeth Eddy posted her first post on X in almost two years. In it, Eddy responded in substance to the Guardian’s report that the NWSL had quietly abandoned its inclusion policy for trans and intersex athletes, leaving the league’s future stance on the issue undecided.

The New York Post gave Eddy’s writings a boost the next day, republishing them in their entirety.

“I fear that if it is not clear who the league is for, it will lose its identity and momentum,” Eddy writes in the article, which largely advocates banning trans athletes from the NWSL, in order to protect “the integrity of women’s sports” so the league doesn’t lose “its identity and momentum.”

It’s unclear how Eddy believes the integrity of the NWSL has been harmed — either by virtue of its previous policy that allowed trans athletes in the league, or due to its current absence. The league, now in its 13th season, has developed a clear identity. It’s very competitive. It’s powerful commercially and culturally. It’s, well, a integral an integral part of the global women’s football scene. The league’s dynamics also appear to be largely good: To pick out just two data points, viewership has increased each season, and by 2026 the league will expand to 16 teams, nearly doubling its size over the past five years.

Eddy cites the England Federation’s recent ban on transgender athletes from women’s football as a success. However, the ban imposed by England would only concern around twenty grassroots players out of 5.5 million registered athletes. There is reason to believe that the effect would be equally negligible here in the United States. In 2021, when the league’s trans inclusion policy took effect, the NWSL had two trans players: Quinn and Kumi Yokoyama. Both have since left and no trans players currently play in the league. During the opening weekend of the 2025 season, the league welcomed its 1,000th player. That’s just two trans players out of more than 1,000 in league history.

Eddy’s article is written as if there is a pipeline of trans players ready to take over the league at any moment. It doesn’t exist. There are currently no transgender players competing at a professional level in the United States. Federal law specifically prohibits trans players from participating in NCAA college football. And aside from all that, several peer-reviewed studies have shown that trans athletes have no biological advantage over cis athletes.

In the absence of trans people, transphobic attacks continued along racial lines. When Orlando Pride’s Barbra Banda was named the BBC’s player of the year, a wave of online abuse followed. The NWSL was slow to act to support its star player. The Kansas City Current’s Temwa Chawinga and his sister Tabitha suffered similar abuse. This all comes from either the fraught world of gender testing norms, female players not seeming feminine enough outwardly to some, or a combination of these two factors.

In his article, Eddy manages to identify that there is difficulty in legislating in this way, stating that “this uncertainty serves no one, as questions and controversies abound about intersex and transgender athletes. »

But she doesn’t seem to realize the extent to which her opinion piece makes these misdeeds even more possible. As Suzanne Wrack said in the Guardian earlier this year: “Hysteria over a near-impossible hypothetical situation opens the door to transphobic and racist targeting of female football players and creates an environment that makes trans people, trans young people or those questioning their gender identity at grassroots level feel like they have no place in football or sport.” »

This harm is exponentially increased by the New York Post’s shameful decision to publish Eddy’s op-ed with a photo of Banda, who, like many athletes of color, is a frequent target of transphobic attacks. And Eddy’s own teammates know it.

“This article does not speak for this team in this locker room,” Angel City FC captain Sarah Gorden told reporters Thursday. “We disagree with what was written for a multitude of reasons, but much of the implication is also transphobic and racist. The article calls for genetic testing of certain players and it contains a photo of a featured African player. was written in the article.

Even if one were to ignore all of this and believe that trans inclusion is a real problem for the NWSL, it’s hard to see how this could outweigh a number of other issues that have actually blunted the league’s momentum and affected its integrity.

There are ongoing issues regarding the working conditions of the professionals who operate the league. Six former employees of the San Diego Wave are suing the club and the NWSL, alleging, in part, racial and disability discrimination, sexual harassment and negligence in preventing discrimination and sexual harassment. The Guardian reported that the NWSL denied any wrongdoing, saying it owed “no duty of care” to the six employees.

There are issues regarding player care. In May, Angel City defender Savy King collapsed on the field, requiring emergency medical treatment before leaving the field on a stretcher. Play on the field resumed, although the players were visibly distraught. The NWSLPA called on the league to review its medical protocols. Then, in August, when a nationally televised match between the Orlando Pride and the KC Current was delayed by extreme heat, NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman reportedly threatened to fine the Current due to a disagreement in the league’s extreme heat procedures.

There are also simpler issues on the pitch, as European leagues like the WSL are experiencing enough financial growth to start luring some of the NWSL’s best players away from the league and country where they made their careers.

Trans athletes have not addressed any of these issues. And they’re unlikely to do so, whether Eddy’s suggestions come true or not.