A group of friends say they were asked to leave a women’s sports bar in Portland, Oregon, after an employee told them their shirts were making other customers “uncomfortable.”
Amy Sousa and four others arrived Sunday at The Sports Bra in Northeast Portland, but were soon refused service when staff took issue with what was described as their “pro-women” apparel, KOIN reported.
Some of the clothing came from XX-XY Athletics, a brand that promotes keeping women’s sports divided on the basis of biological sex.
A photo obtained by the outlet showed several messages printed on the shirts, including “Save Women’s Sports,” “Girls just wanna have fundamental rights,” “It’s common sense,” and “Woman.”
Sousa, who describes herself as a “gender abolitionist,” later posted video of the encounter on social media.
A blond-haired waitress with glasses and a nose ring approached the group after they were served their meals, the clip showed.
‘There are people that are in here that are uncomfortable with those shirts, and so I’m asking y’all to leave,’ the female server told them.
‘If I have to call authorities to get y’all removed, I will, but I don’t want to do that,’ the waitress added.
A group of people were kicked out of a women’s sports bar in Portland, Oregon, on Sunday after a waitress told them that their clothing was making other customers ‘uncomfortable’
The Sports Bra, a bar fully dedicated to women’s sports, served the group before a worker voiced concerns about their t-shirts
‘I’m just asking if you would please consider the depth of-,’ a woman in the group told the server, who cut her off.
When asked why the employee didn’t say anything until after they sat down and ordered, she admitted that she didn’t notice their T-shirts at first.
‘There is nothing wrong with these shirts,’ a group member said as the server said: ‘I’ve had complaints by customers already,’ and walked away.
In the caption of the post, Sousa said: ‘We had not interacted with anyone but our own group.’
She also told Storyful that the group ended up leaving the bar, including a man who was wearing a ‘plain shirt with no message.’
The Sports Bra, a bar fully dedicated to women’s sports, later shared a statement on Instagram.
‘At The Sports Bra, our mission is simple: support, promote, and empower ALL girls and women in sports. To be clear: trans girls are girls, and trans women are women.
‘Since day one, we’ve built our space to be inclusive, especially for people who don’t feel comfortable at a traditional sports bar. That includes LGBTQ+ community members. As a reminder, the T stands for trans. We welcome people of every identity and background, but we do not tolerate messages or conduct that demean or exclude the very community we exist to serve and celebrate,’ the business said.
The bar then took to Instagram to double down on its stance and explain why those customers were not allowed to wear the t-shirts
The bar also claimed that they instructed the group to cover the messages on their shirts or leave.
‘On Sunday, Sept. 6, a group entered wearing apparel with messages advocating for the exclusion of trans women from sports,’ it read. ‘When our team respectfully gave the group the choice to cover the anti-trans messaging or leave, they chose to leave.’
The bar concluded by saying that it is ‘firmly committed to inclusion and belonging for everyone who walks through our doors.’
On that same day, Sousa and seven others were ejected from a Portland Thorns soccer match in Providence Park for a similar reason.
When asked why they were removed from the game, a male security guard told Sousa that he had been told that they had ‘transphobic’ slogans on their clothing.
‘We haven’t done anything transphobic,’ Sousa told him, according to a separate video she took of that incident.
The security guard also said that he was informed ‘that somebody was giving out information,’ and that ‘our stadium is inclusive.’
Sousa replied: ‘Why are we not included?’
On that same day, Sousa and seven others were ejected from a Portland Thorns soccer match in Providence Park for a similar reason
The guard soon walked away because he was ‘unwilling to have a conversation,’ Sousa claimed.
‘This is insanity! So you can make a call on any of their people; you can just tell them there’s transphobic people in there, and they will boot those people out. This is insanity,’ Sousa continued.
The group also received a written notice that stated they were violating the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Code of Conduct, Fox News reported.
It gave venue staff 72 hours to contact the group about any additional penalties, and also warned them that refusing to give their personal information to them could lead to a ban from future events at the stadium, according to the outlet.
Sousa went on to share a selfie of herself wearing Portland Thorns gear.
‘This is what I was wearing when I got ejected from the @NWSL Portland Thorns game. A call was apparently make [sic] against me that I’m “transphobic,”‘ she wrote.
Sousa added: ‘Apparently you can’t go to see women’s sports while having personal political beliefs in your head that you don’t even share!!’
Sousa also recorded the interaction at the stadium and shared it on social media
The incidents come as the debate over transgender athletes’ space in sports, particularly women’s sports, rages.
The legal and cultural debate is about whether transgender girls and women should be allowed to participate in female athletic teams.
Advocates for transgender rights claim the fight is a direct attack on a person’s civil rights, while their opposition believes it is unfair if transgender females play in sports that biological girls and women are in.
In June, the US Supreme Court ruled that states now have the authority to ban transgender athletes from female school sports.
The Daily Mail contacted Sousa, The Sports Bra, the Portland Thorns, and the NWSL for comment.
