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National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) veteran Elizabeth Eddy said Wednesday that her teammates are still invited to her wedding despite their sharp rebuke of her after a statement she wrote urging the organization to adopt clear gender standards.
The Angel City FC midfielder wrote in the New York Post: “The NWSL needs to adopt a clear standard. One option is for all players to be born with ovaries as required by the FA. Another option is an SRY gene test as implemented by World Athletics and World Boxing.”
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Elizabeth Eddy of Angel City FC poses for a portrait on February 8, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
However, her teammate Sarah Gorden said her words had undertones that “came across as transphobic and racist.” Angelina Anderson said that regardless of the column, the Angel City locker room is “a place for everyone.”
Eddy appeared on “Fox & Friends” on the Pakinomist Channel and talked about the backlash from them.
“Reasonable people can disagree on this subject, but there’s no need to resort to bullying or name-calling because it’s not setting a good example for anyone,” Eddy said. “But also, these teammates are my friends and I’ve known them for a very long time. In fact, they’re invited to my wedding and the invitation still stands.
“They’ve said, ‘yes’. I hope they come. I think it’s super important to offer an olive branch, because at the end of the day we’re all human and it’s very important to get on the same page and choose to work together.”
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Elizabeth Eddy #44 of Angel City FC arrives at the stadium prior to the NWSL match between Angel City FC and Bay FC at BMO Stadium on September 1, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Katelyn Mulcahy/NWSL via Getty Images)
Eddy said it was “difficult” to say whether her teammates understood the potential danger of having a male versus female matchup in women’s sports.
“I would say in the professional sports world it’s really difficult because it’s a really hard thing to speak out because, think about it, your mindset as a professional athlete is, ‘I’ve worked my whole life for this. I’m going to do whatever it takes, no matter what the cost.’ And the flip side of that is, ‘Though I remain silent. Even if I go along to get together. I’m willing to do it to play,” she said.
“So I think at the end of the day, a lot of my teammates, a lot of my peers agree with what I’m trying to share. They want to play more than they want to say, and I understand that. So there’s a lot of fear involved because there’s a high, high price for that.”
Eddy said she has received support from players around the league after releasing her statement.
“Overall, what I’ve come to realize is that it’s an 80/20 problem,” she said. “Most of the country wants women’s sports to be for women. What I’ve noticed, again, a lot of my teammates have a hard time saying if they believe this. But in the big picture, the players have to make up their minds and work together.
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“And what I also realized is that a lot of players in the league have messaged me and reached out and said they agree, but they’re afraid to speak up. So to your point, it’s just a really difficult scenario for the people who are in it. But the people on the outside, the overwhelming majority, have been supportive of this whole concept.”
