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Portland Thorns get destroyed in the comment section for praising fans on the same night XX-XY group attacked

One activist was physically restrained and thrown out by security, others were struck by pro-trans fans with a flag pole.

On Friday night, women's sports activists descended upon the Portland Thorns (NWSL) game wearing XX-XY Athletics T-shirts and holding a sign that said, "Save Women's Sports." They were peaceful. They simply wore shirts that recognized biological reality, but that led to pro-trans Thorns fans striking them with a flag pole, verbally assaulting them, and security physically restraining and throwing some of them out of the game.

It was an awful night for those who claim to be "tolerant" and "accepting," so when the team posted about appreciating their fans, "save women's sports" supporters let them have it.

After the game, the Thorns social team posted this:

"the 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆 best fans in all the land đŸ«¶   thank you for the best atmosphere, support and energy tonight and all season long! we couldn’t do it without you!"

Save Women’s Sports activists are surrounded by an agitated group of trans supporters after unfurling a large
Save Women’s Sports activists are surrounded by an agitated group of trans supporters after unfurling a large "Save Women’s Sports" banner and revealing XX-XY shirts at a Portland Thorns match Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (OutKick)

There's a social media term called, "ratioed", which means a social media post receives significantly more replies than likes. That's exactly what happened here.

Columnist Dustin Grage said, "Your fans are violent and you cheered them on."

Journalist Andy Ngo said, "You allowed thugs to assault women and then had your security force the victims out."

X user Charlotte Welcker said, "Your fans assaulted a woman and then your security threw her out. DISGUSTING."

Save Women’s Sports activists are surrounded by an agitated group of trans supporters after unfurling a large
Save Women’s Sports activists are surrounded by an agitated group of trans supporters after unfurling a large "Save Women’s Sports" banner and revealing XX-XY shirts at a Portland Thorns match Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (OutKick)

Another user stated, "Unless you wear an athletic shirt with the wrong brand, in which case you'll be ejected from the game in a hurry."

One user highlighted one of the worst incidents of the night saying, "show the part where a male fan shoved a 57 year old lesbian down two rows of seats. disgusting fans."

Reporter, commentator, and "Save Women's Sports" activist, Brandi Kruse, who was physically restrained by security and eventually, picked up and thrown out of the stadium, shared details about what happened to her friend.

"Julie, a 57-year-old lesbian, was shoved down by a male @ThornsFC fan and tumbled over two rows of chairs. All for wearing an @xx_xyathletics shirt. He later apologized and said he didn’t know why he did it, he was just following the crowd. She has filed a police report," she reported on X with an accompanying video.

Other replies included:

"Too bad you don’t support free speech."

"I will never attend a game. You assaulted women wearing t-shirts representing science."

"Your fans are insecure, violent, and unreasonable."

To be fair, as was pointed out by OutKick reporter Jackson Thompson on X, Friday night was Fan Appreciation Night, but the Thorns should have read the room, regardless of the theme night. The actions of their fans, especially their supporter group, was disgusting.

If this incident proved anything in my mind, it's that the NWSL is more radical and intolerant than the WNBA.

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