The Anti-Trans Grifters Are Coming For The NWSL | Defector

"In July, the reported that the NWSL had quietly allowed its policy on the participation of transgender players, established in 2021, to expire. The scrapped policy used the testosterone levels of transgender players to determine their eligibility to play in the league. In the same article, the Guardian revealed that this lack of an official policy was being eyed by conservative lobbying groups seeking to exclude transgender women from the league entirely."

"In an Oct. 26 social media post that was republished the next day as an editorial by the New York Post, Angel City benchwarmer Elizabeth Eddy criticized the NWSL's lack of gender eligibility policy. She suggested the league should adopt standards like requiring players to have ovaries, or to undergo genetic testing. She wrote that players who those policies would exclude should be forced to play in separate divisions and leagues."

"The movement dedicated to using sports as a vehicle for advancing transphobic laws and policies is one that relies on cycles of manufactured controversy. There are no known transgender players in the NWSL, which means that anti-trans bigots wait around and seize on things like Eddy's editorial in order to force culture-war flare-ups on the rest of us. The ultimate goal is always to make this country a more hostile place for trans people, and to enforce a blinkered definition of femininity."

In July the NWSL allowed its 2021 transgender participation policy to expire. The 2021 policy used transgender players' testosterone levels to determine eligibility. Conservative lobbying groups targeted the absence of an official policy to push exclusion of transgender women. On Oct. 26 Angel City bench player Elizabeth Eddy posted criticisms on social media that were republished the next day by a major outlet, proposing requirements such as having ovaries or undergoing genetic testing and urging excluded players to play in separate divisions. Eddy logged minimal playing time in recent seasons. Anti-trans advocates seized on the episode to manufacture controversy and advance exclusionary aims.

Read at Defector