Elizabeth Eddy’s anti-trans op-ed ignites backlash at LA’s most inclusive soccer club
In Los Angeles, a city that prides itself on inclusion, few sports franchises embody that spirit like Angel City Football Club. Founded on equity, empowerment, and community, ACFC is by far the most inclusive team in the National Women’s Soccer League, if not in all professional sports.
Which is why, when one of Angel City’s own players, veteran midfielder Elizabeth Eddy, published an op-ed in the New York Post on October 27, arguing that transgender women should not be allowed to play in the NWSL, the backlash from fans was instant.
The Op-Ed That Sparked the Firestorm
In her column titled “National Women’s Soccer League Must Adopt Gender Standards to Keep Growing,” Eddy called for the NWSL to implement “biological eligibility requirements,” including “chromosomal testing and birth-assigned sex verification,” to “protect fairness” in women’s sports.
Her argument, presented as a call for clarity, reads to ACFC faithfuls like a call for exclusion. Eddy warned that without these restrictions, the league could “lose credibility” and “alienate fans.”
The editorial dropped like a flare in a league that currently has no active transgender policy. NWSL’s previous 2021 guidelines expired in 2022, leaving a vacuum that conservative voices have been eager to fill.
The Angel City Identity Crisis
To understand why this landed so hard, you have to understand Angel City’s DNA.
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The club’s founders, actress Natalie Portman, venture capitalist Kara Nortman, and tech entrepreneur Julie Uhrman, often describe Angel City’s creation as an epiphany, not a business plan. After attending a U.S. Women’s National Team match and realizing that the sport’s cultural power far exceeded its investment, the three women imagined what it would look like if equity and impact were built into the foundation of a franchise rather than added later as branding. Out of that moment of clarity, Angel City FC was born — a social-impact startup disguised as a soccer team.
From day one, they pledged to donate 10% of all sponsorship revenue back into the community, host LGBTQ+ inclusion and equity workshops, and proudly wear jerseys declaring that “Los Angeles is for Everyone.” Their annual Pride Night isn’t performative; it’s policy.
Which is why one of their own players arguing publicly that some women aren’t women enough feels less like free speech and more like brand sabotage.
The Sound of Silence
As of publication, Angel City FC has not released an official statement on Eddy’s article. No teammates have publicly defended her, either. That silence speaks volumes. If the team condemns her words, it risks alienating players who agree with her privately. If it stays silent, it risks alienating the community that built its fanbase.
This is the paradox of modern sports activism: the very inclusivity that defines Angel City also demands accountability when someone betrays it.
What’s Really at Stake
Women’s soccer has truly become a cultural battleground where identity, fairness, and belonging intersect. Angel City was supposed to represent the best version of that intersection: fearless, inclusive, forward-thinking, but does that mean banishing those who don’t agree to the sidelines?
True inclusion shouldn’t mean ideological conformity, but it also can’t tolerate rhetoric that undermines the very people it vows to protect. Angel City now sits in that gray zone, where protecting marginalized players and fans may require setting boundaries that look, on the surface, exclusionary.
It raises a deeper question: does inclusivity mean letting everyone speak freely, or does it mean creating a space where everyone feels safe to exist? In practice, those two goals often clash, and how Angel City handles that collision could shape what inclusivity really means in modern sport.
Elizabeth Eddy’s essay might have been intended as a plea for fairness. But in context, it reads more like an act of betrayal not only to the trans community, but to the team whose very existence symbolizes belonging.
In Los Angeles, inclusion has never been a trend, it’s always felt more like a promise. And right now the world is watching to see whether Angel City can figure out how to keep it.
