NWSL and US Soccer’s lack of transgender policy targeted by conservative lobby groups | OneFootball

As the United States supreme court agrees to hear two cases in the fall intended to enforce bans on transgender women from sport, the Guardian can reveal that the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has not renewed its 2021 policy on transgender players and is operating with no policy on the subject.

The NWSL established a policy in 2021, stating: “athletes who transition from male to female are eligible to compete” if they declare their gender identity is female – subject to testosterone levels being “within typical limits of women athletes”. The 2021 policy also stated athletes designated female at birth transitioning to male and undergoing testosterone hormone therapy were ineligible to compete in the NWSL.

There are currently no known transgender athletes playing in the NWSL, though there have been in the past. Canadian international Quinn, who won a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics, played for Washington Spirit and Seattle Reign until 2024, and had publicly criticized the league’s policy. Japan international Kumi Yokoyama came out as a transgender man in 2021 and subsequently played for Washington Spirit and Gotham FC.

It was widely understood that the 2021 policy remained current but a spokesperson for the NWSL told the Guardian: “The 2021 policy is not in effect and has not been since Commissioner [Jessica] Berman was hired in March of 2022. The NWSL does not currently have a policy in this regard.”

The NWSL did not respond to questions about why the policy was not renewed and if there were plans for the NWSL to create a new policy in the future.

England’s Football Association and the Scottish Football Association banned transgender women from playing in women’s football earlier this year following a UK supreme court decision in April that ruled the legal definition of “woman” refers to “biological sex.”

The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), the senior co-host for the 2026 World Cup, does not have a policy on transgender players for national teams. A USSF source, speaking anonymously to provide context to the lack of policy, explained: “There are no elite transgender players in our player pool and what happened with England and Scotland has nothing to do with us. If there was a player who fell under this area we would have to make a decision but we [would be] damned if we do and damned if we don’t.”

Asked about policy for non-elite players, a spokesperson for the governing body pointed to the federation’s Policy Manual which states amateur players “may register with the gender team with which the player identifies [and] shows the stated gender is sincerely held, and part of a person’s core identity. Documentation satisfying the herein stated standard includes … government-issued documentation or documentation prepared by a health care provider, counselor, or other qualified professional not related to the player.”

The general lack of guidance from the leading US soccer authorities comes amid a broader cultural environment in which the rights of transgender people have been under scrutiny, if not outright attack. In June, the US supreme court ruled that Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming treatment did not discriminate on the basis of sex, with the court set to hear a case concerning transgender athletes’ participation in student sports.

“Right now, it is incredibly terrifying to be a transgender person in the United States,” a formerly high-profile advocate for transgender sports told the Guardian, requesting anonymity for fear of personal safety.

Multiple organizations usually supportive of LGBTQ issues are maintaining a low profile on the issue of transgender participation in sports and official policy. Human Rights Campaign referred questions from the Guardian on transgender athletes to Athlete Ally, an organization created to publicly and prominently support LGBTQ athletes. Athlete Ally did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The lack of policy and public support for transgender athletes has created an open goal for lobby groups seeking to establish laws and policy banning transgender women from participating in women’s sports.

“The tide is changing here in the United States,” Beth Parlato, a legal advisor to the Independent Women’s Forum, said. “Everyone is looking at this.”

The Independent Women’s Forum is a politically conservative multi-issue group that has taken a leading role in banning transgender women from women’s sport. Swimmer Riley Gaines, who was part of a class action lawsuit against the NCAA, is an ambassador for the organization. IWF advocates for and supports lawsuits demanding bans for transgender women in women’s sport and has advised governing bodies on writing transgender policy.

“If we hear there are men trying to compete in the women’s soccer league we would start just like we did with women’s golf,” Parlato told the Guardian. “We had players come forward and express that they needed help. We reached out to the governing [body] with all of our information and data. We did a petition drive for women’s golf where we were able to secure thousands of names and then the policy changed. We did what we can to effect change with the governing body and we were able to do it. We would do the same for women’s soccer.”

Parlato’s organization is highly organized and employs detailed strategy for various campaigns. A focus on college and school sports that receive government funding has been successful, but IWF is now eyeing influence across the wider sports industry.

Parlato outlined a playbook deployed for previous campaigns: “Athletes will come to us as a group and we will directly contact the governing body. We [create] a lot of media around them, go all over national media, digital media, social media, national news outlets, op-eds, articles, petition drives, letters to the governing board and we [create] an action center where we drive all of that advocacy. After so many months [of pressure] they change their policy. We would do that again [for soccer].”

Parlato said IWF, if invited, would work with soccer organizations to create policy: “We would be happy to give that [advice] but they haven’t approached us. The tide is changing here in the United States. Out of 50 states, 28 have used our model legislation [or] they have passed their own laws, and codified it in law that men cannot participate in women’s sports. We are very excited by that.”

“The other 22 states are deep, deep, [Democratic] states like California, and New York and Maine, Illinois, Michigan and New Mexico,” she added. “Deep blue states where it is harder [to get laws passed]. We are trying to get laws passed federally. It has been difficult [but] we are going to keep working.”

For the transgender community, the speed of the shut out from women’s sport and lack of public support paints a different picture to the legal and policy success for IWF.

“It is not red, white and blue here for millions of people,” said the transgender advocate requesting anonymity for safety reasons. “There are a lot of [transgender people] in the country but not a lot that are heard from. It’s an easy population to scapegoat. We are seen as a throwaway and as a small tiny fraction of the population.”

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