The Department of Justice is reviewing the forcible removal of women’s sports advocates from a Portland Thorns NWSL game Friday night after video showed security dragging them from the stands while opposing fans struck them with transgender-pride flagpoles.
About 20 spectators attended the Portland Thorns vs. North Carolina Courage match wearing XX-XY Athletics shirts, which they revealed in the second half alongside a “Save Women’s Sports” banner. Activist Amy Sousa and commentator Brandi Kruse were among the group.
Footage from the game shows members of the group being hit with flagpoles, cursed at by nearby fans, and then physically removed by security. Sousa told OutKick that she and other attendees filed police reports after the incident.
“We were attacked by fans. We were hit with flags,” Sousa said.
Despite being on the receiving end of the alleged assaults, it was the shirt-wearing fans whom security escorted out. Video shows a guard restraining Kruse’s arm behind her back as she was walked through the stands, questioning why she and others were being removed.
OutKick reporter Matt Calkins, who was covering the confrontation, said his phone was knocked from his hand and beer was poured on his neck while he filmed. A security guard also pulled his press credential from around his neck mid-interview with Sousa before returning it moments later.
DOJ Responds
Fox News Digital reported Friday that the Justice Department is now reviewing the ejections. A DOJ spokesperson gave this statement:
“The Justice Department is aware of these reports and will review the matter thoroughly. Where the facts and the law warrant action, the Department will not hesitate to act.”
A DOJ official told Fox separately that, based on what’s known so far, the conduct described “appears to raise viewpoint discrimination and First Amendment questions rather than sex discrimination,” and that the department is reviewing the matter further.
This is a developing story.
