Eight fans wearing pro-women sports apparel, including items from XX-XY Athletics and shirts reading "Save Women's Sports," were confronted and ejected from Providence Park during a Portland Thorns NWSL match against the Washington Spirit. Stadium security cited a breach of the venue's code of conduct, and one attendee, Amy E. Sousa, said she was accused of being transphobic despite the group insisting they had caused no disturbance and had not even displayed their shirts before being approached. The episode has reignited debate about how sports venues enforce fan attire rules and where the line falls between maintaining order and restricting free expression.

Footage shows staff issuing the group a notice of a code-of-conduct infraction, warning that further penalties could follow within 72 hours and that refusing to give personal details on the spot risked a stadium-wide ban. The ejection came after local LGBT organiser Hannah Perry publicly urged city officials, including the mayor and Governor Tina Kotek, and Providence Park management to intervene ahead of the match. The NWSL's fan code bars political campaigning or advocacy imagery, but critics note it offers no clear standard for what counts as banned expression, leaving decisions to staff discretion; Providence Park, the Thorns and the NWSL did not immediately respond to requests for comment.