L.A. soccer stars blast teammate's 'racist and transphobic' op-ed calling for NWSL 'gender standards'

Team leaders of Los Angeles' Angel City FC expressed disappointment last week in what they call a "racist and transphobic" editorial from their teammate calling on the National Women's Soccer League to implement "gender standards."

Team leaders of Los Angeles' Angel City FC expressed disappointment last week in what they call a "racist and transphobic" editorial from their teammate calling on the National Women's Soccer League to implement "gender standards."

Elizabeth Eddy, an Angel City defender, urged the women's soccer league to create clear "gender standards" in an Oct. 27 New York Post editorial. Eddy offered two options: limit eligibility to players "born with ovaries" or conduct genetic testing.

The NWSL does not have any openly transgender athletes, but did release a policy in 2021 that generally allowed for transgender women to compete as long as their testosterone levels are “within typical limits of women athletes.” It said eligibility determinations would be made before the start of the season and that it would review challenges individually.

"The NWSL will only consider requests that are reasonable and made in good faith," the policy said.

But the league told The Guardian that the policy had been abandoned in 2022 and that it "does not currently have a policy in this regard."