Portland Thorns security forcibly remove women wearing XX-XY shirts as pro-trans fans scream insults, cheer their removal

Reporter Brandi Kruse and other women standing up for women's rights in athletics and wearing XX-XY t-shirts were forcibly escorted out of a Portland Thorns FC game after refusing to leave when security confronted them. Kruse as well as others posted a series of videos of the event to social media on Friday night in which she, along with other women, were heckled by pro-transgender fans.

In one video, a security guard told the group of women they must leave the stadium. After Kruse refused, she was informed that she would be physically escorted out. Kruse was subsequently seen being walked out of the stadium as a guard explained that she was being removed because she refused to leave when asked.

Kruse was heard telling security that they should be “f*cking ashamed of yourselves.”

In a post accompanying the video, Kruse wrote, “In 2026, this is how women are treated for peacefully standing up for their rights. There was no way I was going to leave that stadium of my own free will. We did nothing wrong.”

The shirt was from XX-XY Athletics, a brand founded by former Levi’s executive Jennifer Sey that advocates for keeping women’s sports categories separate based on biological sex. Kruse highlighted the presence of other political messaging at the game, including transgender flags and a shirt worn by one woman that read “Protect trans kids” and featured a knife. She identified the woman wearing the shirt as the “leader” of the fan section.

“She sicced the mob on us. It was sanctioned. All while she wears her shirt threatening violence and leads fans in chants about burning opposing teams alive,” Kruse said.

XX-XY Athletics responded to the incident on social media, writing, “Seems the only shirts not allowed in women’s professional sports leagues today are ones that stand up for women.”

Kruse has interviewed female athletes and parents about the impact of allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports. She has also spoken at events focused on protecting women’s sports and preserving sex-based categories.

Another individual who attended the game alongside Kruse also posted on X, saying she was forcibly removed after “people were hitting my group with trans flags over our feminist shirts.” She was wearing a shirt that read, “Save Women’s Sports.”

Kruse also described a physical altercation involving a 57-year-old lesbian who was wearing an XX-XY Athletics shirt. A male Thorns FC fan shoved the woman, causing her to fall over two rows of chairs.

“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,” Kruse wrote.

The incident is the latest in a series of female activists facing pushback for wearing XX-XY Athletics apparel at sporting events. Multiple individuals wearing the shirts have been harassed at WNBA games, including founder Jennifer Sey, who was present at the WNBA Finals with multiple friends as they were told by a fan to “f*cking kill yourself.”

The Post Millennial has reached out to Portland Thorns FC for comment.