A California-based women’s soccer pro is facing backlash for civilly requesting clarity on who is eligible to compete in the female sports category. In an age of transgender activism, Angel City FC star Elizabeth Eddy wasn’t even calling for a total removal of trans-identifying athletes from the field. She made it clear that she supports so-called “inclusion.” However, in addition, she also made it plain that she wants guidelines — or “gender standards” — within the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

In a New York Post column, Eddy claimed that “fairness and inclusion are core American values.” As she went on to argue, “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 [Football Association of England] requires. Another option is an SRY gene test, like those World Athletics and World Boxing implemented.” She also suggested having an “open division” within the league.

Eddy summarized her stance into a single question: “How do we preserve women’s rights and competitive fairness while fostering meaningful inclusion?” Yet, even Eddy’s attempt to strike a balance between fairness and “inclusion” — a stance that many would still consider to be progressive — was met with hostility. Her own teammates, Sarah Gorden and Angelina Anderson, took deep offense, and they expressed it loud and clear.

“[Eddy’s] article does not speak for this team in this locker room,” Gorden stated. “I’ve had a lot of [conversations] with my teammates 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.” Then Anderson chimed in, noting, “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 [who] our staff is, that’s what our fan base is. Angel City is a place for everyone. It always will be. That’s how it was from the beginning, that’s how it will always be. Period.”

Gorden went further, bluntly laying bare her disapproval of Eddy’s column: “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. The article calls for genetic testing on certain players, and it has a photo of an African player as a headline. That’s very harmful, and to me, it’s inherently racist because to single out this community based on them looking or being different is absolutely a problem. As a mixed woman, with a black family, I’m devastated by the undertones of this article.”

The reaction quickly spread from Eddy’s teammates to the organization at large. Although vague, the NWSL told The Athletic it was “committed to working directly with the NWSL Players Association on any changes to our league policies.”

Eddy concluded her article, stating, “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 call comes after years of trans-identifying athletes and fairness within women’s sports gaining increased national attention. While some entities have doubled down on the controversial idea of allowing biological men to compete alongside women, many others have changed their policies to either put up some safeguards or eliminate the possibility of trans-participation altogether. A recent example of this dichotomy is seen in how major U.S. universities have handled the issue compared to junior colleges.

As The Washington Times reported, “The NCAA and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, the nation’s two largest collegiate sports authorities, now require students to compete based on sex at birth.” Meanwhile, junior colleges continue to allow participation based on so-called “gender identity.” However, schools such as Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) are continuing to allow men to compete has led to anxiety, injuries, and legal action.

Ximena Gomez, an SRJC volleyball player, is a biological male who identifies as a woman. Allegedly, Gomez concussed a woman during practice, caused other female athletes to walk away from the sport due to discomfort, and triggered three of his teammates to file Title IX complaints against the school. Despite all this, the school’s response is that it has operated within its jurisdiction. “SRJC is committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for all students and employees,” an SRJC spokesperson said. “The district complies with California Community College Athletic Association regulations, which govern student eligibility and participation in our athletic programs.”

In response, Marshi Smith, co-founder of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, told the Times, “Collegiate female athletes are still being forced to share teams and locker rooms with men who self-identify as women.” It’s this concern that led the Trump administration to take federal action. President Donald Trump’s February executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” aimed to protect women’s spaces and threatened to “rescind funding to programs that fail to comply with the policy established in this order.” As a result, numerous schools have become the grounds of investigations over potential Title IX violations.

With a previous administration fueling these controversial policies and a current administration actively fighting against them, the playing field seems as tense as ever — a tension finding its roots in those who champion that men and women are biologically different and those who don’t. As Mary Szoch, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Human Dignity, told The Washington Stand, “In the woke person’s mind, the idea of ‘fairness’ means prioritizing the desires of mentally ill men over safety and opportunity for women.” Eddy’s article, she added, puts it in perspective.

“Elizabeth Eddy’s op-ed didn’t name call, she didn’t put anyone down, she acknowledged the sports dreams of people with gender dysphoria,” Szoch stated. “And still, because she believes that women’s sports should be for women only, she has been declared ‘transphobic.’” Those who promote “men in women’s sports talk about wanting inclusion, but what they really mean is that anyone who disagrees with their belief that men and women are interchangeable should be shunned, shamed, and canceled as quickly as possible.”

“It took courage for Elizabeth Eddy to stand for truth,” Szoch concluded. “I hope she knows that despite what the mainstream media says, she’s not standing alone — and there are countless women and girls who are grateful that she is standing up for women’s sports to only include women.”