Eight fans wearing "Save Women's Sports" and XX-XY Athletics apparel were removed from Providence Park during the Portland Thorns' 6 September NWSL match against the Washington Spirit, sparking a dispute over the true reason for their ejection. The club says the group was distributing "unapproved materials" in breach of stadium guidelines, but fan Amy Sousa insists they were targeted for their political views and accused the Thorns of lying, saying they merely shared printed copies of the venue's own code of conduct among themselves.

Sousa said she brought five printed copies of the NWSL and Providence Park codes of conduct after being warned that a local activist was reporting the group to officials, and maintains their XX-XY clothing was not visible on entry. Security issued the group a written notice citing a code-of-conduct violation, warning of further penalties including a possible ban, and the Thorns say the incident remains under investigation. The dispute continued afterwards when the group visited The Sports Bra, a Portland bar supporting women's sports, whose staff asked them to leave over "transphobic" messaging; the bar later issued a statement affirming that "trans women are women" while saying it does not tolerate exclusionary messaging.