'I've been disowned and shamed for saying women footballers must be boen with ovaries' Oliver Brown in The Telegraph

[impossibletoday]

A woman from Los Angeles

‘I’ve been disowned and shamed for saying women footballers must be born with ovaries’

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/4c6e0d006499e2b7

born!!!!!!!

It's a very good article & addresses a point that's sometimes been lost in the furore over trans identified male athletes in women's sport: some countries deliberately scout athletes with 'female' on their passports who have male specific differences of sex development & went through male puberty. Soccer is the number one destination for these athletes because athletics - & now all Olympic sports - have sex testing. The risk for the US women's soccer elite is that their sport becomes an arms race to see which team can recruit the most males.

Oliver Brown hits the nail on the head again. He is consistently accurate with his reporting.

I think that perhaps the only criticism I would make of Elizabeth’s very brave words would be that the sound bite version isn’t accurate. I cannot remember her full article at the time. However it isn’t that the body simply has ‘ovaries’, it is that the body has been formed around the production of small gametes regardless of whether those ovaries are present and functional. Just for those people who use the whataboutery tactic of ‘but what about those women who were born without ovaries?’

She was correct to speak out those. What a shame to have lost so much because of her brave words.

Football is an Olympic sport.

An archive version

https://archive.is/1Q7UO

Just finished reading this. Oliver Brown writes very clearly, he covers the issue of 'intersex' individuals very well here. Also the hypocrisy of the trans-addled.

Elizabeth Eddy is a brave and principled woman. Her team mates speak like they've headed a few to many balls.

Good for her for actually speaking out.
Note how it is twisted into transphobia and racism.
Things are getting desperate.
The vocal fry is strong in that first interviewee and I couldn't finish watching.

At least we can all be happy knowing Megan Rapinoe is just fine and dandy with that.

Good point. Certain players will be mysteriously not be available for their countries when the Olympiad comes around, highlighting the failure of FIFA to act, because it's a boys club that sees the women's game as a politically correct irrelevance.

This is an issue that FIFA refuses to review. If FIFA implemented the regulation of the female sex category for all their competitions, it would filter down.

It is a significant risk to female players to have any male person playing on the field with them. If a female person plays mixed sex football, that is her choice to consent to that situation.

Not only is it a risk for the players, but considering in Australia, Kirralie Smith has been fined a substantial amount for saying that Riley Dennis and others are male people.

It is a remarkable situation women face at this time.

Sepp Blatter infamously said in 2004 that one of the ways to increase interest in women's football was for the players to wear tighter shorts...

I wonder would he still be so keen on tighter shorts if he knew that some of them were being worn by males?😏

A woman is someone who is biologically female..regardless of ovarian presence or functionality.

FIFA are thoroughly corrupt and are totally men focused, they pay lip service to women's football.

Now I am back at my desktop, I could search for her original post on X.com.

https://x.com/elizabetheddy2/status/1982593517362000308?s=20

" The W in NWSL

When I joined the National Women’s Soccer League 11 years ago, our games were live-streamed to fans on YouTube. Today, our league is halfway through a four-year, $240 million television contract. Our teams are among the most valuable franchises in women’s sports. Yet with this remarkable growth comes an urgent challenge: How do we preserve women’s rights and competitive fairness while fostering meaningful inclusion?

I’m proud to have played a small role in our league’s transformation from struggling startup to supercharged celebrity-maker. I’ve been a part of winning seven titles: three NWSL Championships, three regular-season titles and one International Champions Cup. But I’m concerned that without clarity about who the league is for, it will lose its identity and its momentum.

Recent controversies across women’s sports — from swimming to track and field — have highlighted the absence of clear eligibility policies in professional soccer, unlike a growing number of other competitions. This uncertainty serves no one, as questions and controversy abound over intersex and transgender athletes. Players have been excluded and then unexcluded, administrators have blamed and criticized each other, and fans have used the uncertainty to harass players.

Leaders from across the political spectrum, including progressives like California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris, have expressed support for stronger protections for the integrity of women’s sports. Ensuring fairness prompted numerous international leagues to tighten eligibility. World Athletics did so in 2023 for international track and field competitions. Other countries’ domestic organizations did the same, including the UK Athletics Federation. World Aquatics (formerly FINA), international swimming’s governing body, adopted clear rules about sex and gender eligibility in 2022. England’s Football Association now requires ovaries at birth.

Addressing this challenge entails remembering why women’s sports categories exist in the first place: not to exclude but to create a space where female athletes can physically compete on equal footing. Studies show measurable differences between men and women in muscle mass, bone density and cardiovascular capacity, which directly affect competitive outcomes. Further research has found male muscular advantage is only “minimally reduced” — by about 5% over 12 months — by testosterone suppression.

Fairness and inclusion are core American values. Reasonable people can disagree about where to draw lines, but avoiding the conversation altogether by shutting out diverse views does not serve us. In fact, we owe it to current and future female athletes to solve this.

The NWSL must adopt a clear standard. One option is all players must be born with ovaries, as the FA requires. Another option is an SRY gene test, like those World Athletics and World Boxing implemented.

This SRY genetic marker indicates male-developmental pathways during fetal growth, providing objective scientific criteria for competitive categorization. Critics say genetic-testing policies can cause psychological harm. This concern must be taken seriously. Testing could easily integrate into medical evaluations through existing blood draws or noninvasive cheek swabs, conducted once per career under strict confidentiality protocols. Athletes testing positive for the SRY gene could receive comprehensive support, including counseling, privacy protections and inclusion in professional networks. World Athletics has successfully used similar protocols since 2018, with legal challenges ultimately supporting such policies’ scientific basis.

Creating pathways for athletes traditionally excluded from competing at the highest level would demonstrate inclusion and competitive integrity can coexist.

I know from experience the NWSL is more than just a sports league. For many, dreams are coming true in real life — dreams that were impossible before my generation. I also understand that for many athletes and fans, seeing intersex and transgender athletes compete and dominate on sports’ biggest stages also realizes a dream. How can we make an open arena reality for small and tragically marginalized minorities with nowhere else that may feel safe and inclusive to compete?

The answer is in the NWSL’s own history. Just as we built a new space for women to compete in the largest arenas, now we must honor that commitment and make the National Women’s Soccer League for women. I welcome leaders including the aforementioned American politicians to come together with the NWSL’s blueprint and build solutions.

Some pathway ideas: an open division within the NWSL, small-sided opportunities like the Soccer Tournament and World Sevens Football, pathways to stay in the game and free counseling. I don’t have all the answers, but I do know we’re all in this together. It will take time, space and creativity to cooperate as we move forward.

Decisions the NWSL makes — or shirks its responsibility to make — will shape opportunities for young athletes of all backgrounds for decades to come. We must get them right by finding the most ethical and innovative path ahead.

Women’s sports showcase the full range of human ability as we reach and exceed what is physically possible. Everybody needs a chance to break records and achieve the previously impossible. That is why we love to celebrate women competing against each other and why we need creative solutions to ensure everybody can compete on a level playing field.

It would be nice to have no need for clear eligibility criteria. Unfortunately, when money, power and fame are at stake, which inevitably happens in professional sports, competitors may try to push on what is right or fair. Especially when the goal of winning requires using every available advantage. "

This post should not have been controversial. Particularly, in light of the IOC decision more recently.

This is her article in the NY Post.

https://nypost.com/2025/10/27/opinion/national-womens-soccer-league-must-adopt-gender-standards-to-keep-growing/

National Women’s Soccer League must adopt gender standards to keep growing

By
Elizabeth Eddy
Published Oct. 27, 2025

"When I joined the National Women’s Soccer League 11 years ago, our games were livestreamed to fans on YouTube. Today, our league is halfway through a four-year, $240 million television contract. Our teams are among the most valuable franchises in women’s sports. Yet with this remarkable growth comes an urgent challenge: How do we preserve women’s rights and competitive fairness while fostering meaningful inclusion?

I’m proud to have played a small role in our league’s transformation from struggling startup to supercharged celebrity-maker. I’ve been a part of winning seven titles: three NWSL Championships, three regular-season titles and one International Champions Cup. But I’m concerned that without clarity about who the league is for, it will lose its identity and its momentum.

Recent controversies across women’s sports — from swimming to track and field — have highlighted professional soccer lacks clear eligibility policies, unlike a growing number of other competitions.

This uncertainty serves no one, as questions and controversy abound over intersex and transgender athletes.

Players have been excluded and then unexcluded, administrators have blamed and criticized each other, and fans have used the uncertainty to harass players."

And then

"The NWSL must adopt a clear standard. One option is all players must be born with ovaries, as the FA requires. Another option is an SRY gene test, like those World Athletics and World Boxing implemented."

and finishes with

"Women’s sports showcase the full range of human ability as we reach and exceed what’s physically possible. Everybody needs a chance to break records and achieve the previously impossible. That’s why we love to celebrate women competing against each other and why we need creative solutions to ensure everybody can compete on a level playing field.

It would be nice to have no need for clear eligibility criteria. Unfortunately, when money, power and fame are at stake, which inevitably happens in professional sports, competitors may try to push on what is right or fair. Especially when the goal of winning requires using every available advantage."

This is some of the backlash:

https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/soccer/l-soccer-stars-blast-teammates-racist-transphobic-op-ed-calling-nwsl-g-rcna241873

"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."

Team distances itself from op-ed

Angel City released a statement following the publication of Eddy's editorial that said it respected a player's right to express their views, but that it "does not reflect the opinion of an entire organization."

"Since our founding, Angel City has remained committed to equity, inclusion, and belonging," the team said. "These principles will always guide how we show up for our team, fans, and community." "

and then

"Players rally around Banda

Banda was one of the NWSL's leading scorers this season before being placed on the season-ending injury list in August. She's scored 25 goals since joining the league last year and was an integral part of the Pride's first league championship.

She was also subjected to harassment over her gender and was one of four players barred from the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations over testosterone levels. Banda is a cisgender woman, and the Zambian Football Association was critical of the testing standards at the time.

The Pride released a statement praising Banda on Tuesday, saying it looked forward to supporting her journey "as one of the many incredible athletes in our league." It noted her many accolades, including her second-consecutive FIFPRO World 11 award this week.

Banda was also voted BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2024 and nominated for Best FIFA Women’s Player 2024 after a standout performance at the Paris Olympics that summer.

"Barbra Banda is a superb teammate, player and role model, and we are proud that she represents the Orlando Pride, our fans and our community," the team said. "

Here is the ACFC Captain Sarah Gorden and Angelina Anderson interview

Transcript

(Sarah Gorden)

Well, first off, I just want to say that um going into this, I'm a little bit nervous because I think um it's a big job to represent your team and speak for your team and not just that, speak for others um who this will be important to.

Um we've all obviously seen the article that was written in the New York Post earlier this week. So, I really want to start off by saying that that article does not speak for this team in this locker room. Um, I've had a lot of combos with my teammates uh in the past few days and they are hurt and they are harmed by the article and also they are disgusted by some of the things that were said in the article and it's really important for me to say that. Um, and we don't agree with the things written for a plethora of reasons, but mostly the undertones come across as transphobic and racist as well.

Um, the article calls for genetic testing on certain players and it has a photo of an African player as a headline and that's very harmful and to me it's inherently racist because to single out this community uh based on them looking or being different is is absolutely a problem. Um, and as a mixed woman uh with a Bellac family, I'm devastated uh by the undertones of this article and I feel very protective of my teammates and this community um who are also hurt by this and that includes staff and everyone who is a supporter and a fan um and there are players in this league and in this locker room that are directly harmed by what was written in the article.

So, for that, I just want to say I am so so sorry um for anyone hurt by this or anyone harmed by this. Um and please know that I do speak for the team when I say we do support you. Um you don't have to look like me, you don't have to look like an or you don't have to look like somebody from Orange County to be accepted and celebrated here. And it's really important that you know that that is the true message uh from this locker room and the team.

(Angelina Anderson)

Well said, Sarah. And just to add on to that, for me personally, when I think of
LA and I think of Angel City, I think of a place that was founded upon inclusivity and love for all people.

That's what our locker room is. That's what our staff is. That's what our fan base is. Um, Angel City is a place for. everyone. It always will be. That's how it was from the beginning. That's how it always will be. Um, period. And I think this situation, you know, there's Lisa, you kind of touched on it. There's an element of timing to it where this feels like another really big challenge that we have to go through as a team on top of an already really challenging year.

Um, and it's definitely not the note that we as a group want to end on. And so I just want everyone to know that we're doing our best in the locker room to preserve respect and belonging on this team. And um we look forward to ending
the season on as positive of a note as possible.

I think that the transcript above shows the typical fallacious arguments being used that never once prioritise female athletes while superficially being all about prioritising female athletes.

The racism fallacy completely ignores the fact that male people have chosen to disrespect female athletes' needs and knowingly enter the female protected sports category, even with all those studies now available. Those male people are not being judged 'for looking different'. They are being recognised as having male body cues that have developed from having testes producing testosterone that their body processes to masculinise.

This weak fallacy of falling back to racist allegations to avoid the discussion is what the IOC used and many others. It is a silencing tactic at its heart and it is based on misinformation.

Then there was the 'it is not the time' distraction used. This is an emotionally manipulative tactic that fails to address the issues. Because there simply seems to be never a 'right' time to have the discussion.

These two female athletes really did follow the activist line of discussion and in doing so, I wonder if they understand what they perpetuated.

After reading and listening to all that, all I can say is, Thank you Elizabeth Eddy. you really have been brave to continue to voice your concerns.

I'm reading the original article from. Elizabeth in the NY Post and the response from her teammates on that video.
If you took the video response at face value, you would think that Elizabeth called for midnight raids by masked men to check their female anatomy, or unmarked labs descending on women at 3am in the morning demanding invasive testing.
They're literally suggesting a Handmaids Tale brave new world outcome from Elizabeth saying women soccer players should be for noone other than individuals identified biologically (what other kind is there?) from early on, or via scientific when performing.
She's <simply> asking for anyone playing women's football, and by extension women's sports in general, to be restricted to those individuals who were always female to start, or if there is any opacity in declaring this, the very simple cheek swab test.
Yet if you're to believe the backlash to her in that video, you'd think she's trying to exclude black women, lesbians, minorities women, gender non conforming women etc, like she's some sort of Christian evangelist/Klu Klux Klan type of race/gay bigot.
I also wonder how solid the opposition in the team is to Elizabeth?
If we ran a secret ballot, are we really saying 60% + of the team would say it's fine for the individuals Elizabeth objects to, actually to be good alongside them, and competing against them in other teams?
Really? Because if that's the case, the cause is lost.
Or does Elizabeth, Sophie Cunningham, Martina N, Sharon D etc...do they represent sportswomen too afraid to speak up? The majority.

Someone wanting safety in women's sport, and fair competition. Should not be a matter for debate, should just happen, sad it does not.

Just wanted to say a quick 'thank you' Hellebore for your wonderful research skills and your ability to explain things so clearly.

Seriously seconded!

Just to clear up the 'born with ovaries' comment the Olympic sex test is a cheek swab test for the SRY gene which triggers male development. Following a positive result, there will be further tests to rule out rare developmental conditions in which an SRY gene is present but has not triggered male development. I think Eddy is referring to ovaries not testicles as a shorthand for male development.

The two handmaids in this video, interviewing Eddy's very (very) male colleague, are the stuff of nightmares.

We're watching a sociological and psychological experiment in real time. Unfortunately, it's not in a lab, it's in society at large.
These women voluntarily folding in what women have fought over a century to achieve.
No matter how hip and inclusive they think they are, how they want to appear to be, all they're doing is curtseying to The Man.