Tag Archives: OL Reign

Voices

OPINION: Megan Rapinoe, the Cascadia Rivalry, and Letting Women Athletes Talk Trash

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by Maggie Mertens, contributing columnist

Last Sunday’s OL Reign game ended in a 2-1 win against rivals the Portland Thorns. The match was significant for a few reasons. It was the first match the Reign had won against the Thorns in four meetings. It also ended an 11-game win streak for Portland, handed them their first loss at Providence Park in 602 days, and marked the first OL Reign win of the 2021 regular season. 

But perhaps most importantly, it featured something we don’t see nearly enough of in women’s sports: epic trash talk.

Continue reading OPINION: Megan Rapinoe, the Cascadia Rivalry, and Letting Women Athletes Talk Trash →
Voices

OPINION: ‘They Play Here.’ OL Reign Player Quinn Is Proof Trans People Do Belong in Sports

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by Maggie Mertens, contributing columnist

Maybe you’ve seen the ad campaign for the OL Reign: the caption “She plays here” beside a photo of one of the team’s players. 

On Feb. 9, the Reign tweeted out the ad with a link to buying season ticket packages for the upcoming 2021 season, starting in May. But the wording was slightly different. “They play here,” the caption read, beside a photo of Quinn, a midfielder who was signed by OL Reign in July 2019 and plays for the Canadian Women’s National Soccer Team. 

The change is just one word, a pronoun, but it mattered a lot to Quinn, who came out as transgender and nonbinary last September in an Instagram post, started going by just one name, Quinn, and began using they/them pronouns. 

Continue reading OPINION: ‘They Play Here.’ OL Reign Player Quinn Is Proof Trans People Do Belong in Sports →