Watching Angel City FC’s May 8th game against the Orlando Pride, a sharp contrast to the typical team colors of black and pink were the bright pops of green. The color becoming symbolic for Pro Choice rallies making their way across the country in response to the Supreme Court’s leaked opinion on Roe v. Wade. Fans in LA filled Banc of California Stadium, many wearing green bandanas, ribbons, or armed with banners as a show of solidarity for reproductive rights that delicately hang in the balance of the majority conservative Court.
The Mother’s Day match was an opportunity for Angel City fans to put their political views at the forefront. Never ones to shy away, much like their players, the National Women’s Soccer League fandom continuously insert themselves on the front lines of social justice. Where an ordinary game feels equal parts sporting match to social justice summit. Women’s professional sports historically have been shrouded in politics, and undoubtedly, outspoken footballers have formulated a sports community in which fans feel safe in sexuality and gender expression, empowered to champion for pay equality, and license to stand up for Black Lives Matter. So it comes as no surprise that a few social media posts by Angel City supporter groups lead to an army of green and a resounding communal statement that reproductive rights will not be stripped away without a fight.
Leave it to NWSL fans to pick up the gauntlet thrown down by an opinion drafted in the shadows of an unaware public to militarize a holiday match. Los Angeles’ ACFC, along with many other NWSL teams, released statements of support that a woman or any individual with the ability to become pregnant should have bodily autonomy, and it be deemed a fundamental right. A potential tip of the iceberg for fans to turn a football stadium into political center stage.
The following match hosted by the Washington Spirit, saw ACFC players and Coach Freya Coombe arriving at Audi Field wearing 1973 shirts; the year of the historical Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade. The day prior to the match held in the nation’s capital, thousands rallied at the March on D.C.. Among those protesting were fans, including those who traveled in for the Spirit v. Angel City game. In addition, some of ACFC’s staff were present to represent the team and women’s football.
Female identifying athletes are still subjected to archaic lines of questioning their male counterparts are generally not forced to suffer through. Routinely prodded into commentary surrounding age, dating life, appearance, or how they balance family and motherhood with work life. Add in that many players in the NWSL are openly LGBTQ+ identifying, and you have an equation resulting in a revolving door of unsolicited outside opinion. It’s hard to contest that in the US it boils down to any woman’s body continuing to be innately political on a societal level.
Perhaps it is why the fan base has taken such a political turn. In a sport where players are unapologetically and authentically themselves, a safe space has been created where professional competition and human rights activism intersects. Angel City FC; spearheaded by Hollywood royalty Natalie Portman, Jennifer Garner, and entrepreneur Julie Uhrman; is part of the NWSL’s 2022 league expansion. In its inaugural season, the ferocious intersection of sport and politics has found a new home. Los Angeles does not lack the supply of boisterous and loyal fans, ACFC is another team to add to the championship city’s already impressive lineup. However, one clear differential is the strong social justice thread that compels its fans to cheer just as loudly for a yellow card, as they would for the fundamental right to privacy and safe reproductive care.
Written by Haley Becerra
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