Former players for the U.S. women's soccer national team lost to current, former, and guest players for a Welsh men's professional club last week, with a final score of 12-0.
The men took 39 shots compared to the women's 5. Heather O'Reilly, former women's national team player and one-time World Cup winner, said her team was "brave" for playing in the match.
"We don't care because we're living, we're being bold and we're being brave," O'Reilly said. "Here we have two amazing products that American soccer fans are getting behind. It's just a ton of fun and it's brought all of us together."
It's not the first time the women's players have faced embarrassing losses. In 2017, the national team scrimmaged against a youth boys soccer team in Texas and lost 5-2. During the 2021 Olympics, they lost 3-0 to Sweden in their opening game after kneeling before kickoff in protest.
Despite the results, the team has advocated for "equal pay" to the men's team for years. Even when offered the same contract as the men in 2021, the women's team rejected it and said it was "not good enough."
Last week's result undermines the talking points of transgender activists who claim the sexes have no inherent differences and that it's unfair to bar biological males from female sports.
Last month, a biological male who identifies as transgender injured a female player during a semi-professional women’s league soccer game in Australia. The female player hit the ground and lay unmoving after the transgender player hit her with an aggressive shoulder check.
The Biden administration in April rolled out guidance that requires transgender-identifying players be included in some collegiate sports.