Abigail Segel
@abigailsegel.bsky.social
Freelance writer. Women's soccer contributor for Defector. Editor for The IX Soccer and the Equalizer. Bylines in the Guardian, the Cutback, and the Montreal Gazette. Former Normal Gossip intern. She/her. More info at abigailsegel dot com
The Right Has Created Their Perfect Trans Athlete - defector.com/the-right-ha...
The Right Has Created Their Perfect Trans Athlete | Defector
A lot of people in and around the WNBA are talking about trans women. In the aftermath of Indiana Fever role player Sophie Cunningham’s negative comments about trans people playing sports in an ESPN p...
defector.com
Many of the same culprits of the NWSL's transphobia flare-up in November are gleefully stoking the WNBA's current crisis. There's a lot to learn from Sarah Gorden & Angelina Anderson's responses then, and Brianna Turner & Cheryl Reeve's responses now. Both leagues need to follow suit.
The Anti-Trans Grifters Are Coming For The NWSL | Defector
In July, the Guardian reported that the NWSL had quietly allowed its policy on the participation of transgender players, established in 2021, to expire. The scrapped policy used the testosterone level...
defector.com
Goalkeeping across the NWSL is changing. @abigailsegel.bsky.social spoke to former USWNT keeper Jill Loyden about the way quality keepers are making a difference for their teams across the league. www.thecutback.com/p/nwsl-goalk...
The right got a big win when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld states banning trans girls from women's sports. What's next? Over at @defector.com, I dig into their plan for essentially winding down competitive women's sports and Title IX — think of it as make women's sports girly again. Gift link:
Is The Right's Next Project Make Women's Sports Girly Again? | Defector
Within a few weeks of the country’s highest court giving states permission to ban trans girls from nearly all school sports, the influential right wing think tank The Heritage Foundation made clear it...
defector.com
In this week’s Soccer Insider, @anniempeterson.bsky.social breaks down the Heritage Foundation’s recent attacks on Title IX and Megan Rapinoe’s response www.theixsports.com/newsletter/t...
The Heritage Foundation is targeting Title IX | The IX Sports
In this week's Soccer Insider, a breakdown of The Heritage Foundation's attack on Title IX and Megan Rapinoe's response on The View.
theixsports.com
It's been a thrill to watch Leicy Santos's midfielding activities this season. She's taken on the Washington Spirit's no. 10 role with aplomb—that volley goal against NC was just the cherry on top. defector.com/leicy-santos...
Leicy Santos Is In The Right Spot | Defector
The Boston Legacy is not known for being gentle. The expansion team has earned more yellow cards and committed more fouls than any other club in the NWSL this year. On Sunday, that didn’t matter for L...
defector.com
Sabrina D'Angelo, Shelina Zadorsky, and Mimi Alidou have come home. Last night, the Canadian national teamers, who have each played professionally in a dizzying array of countries, made their Northern Super League debuts. www.theixsports.com/the-ix-socce...
D’Angelo, Zadorsky, Alidou make NSL debuts | The IX Soccer
AFC Toronto beat the Montreal Roses 2-0 as three Canadian national team stars made their Northern Super League debuts.
theixsports.com
It's been a thrill to watch Leicy Santos's midfielding activities this season. She's taken on the Washington Spirit's no. 10 role with aplomb—that volley goal against NC was just the cherry on top. defector.com/leicy-santos...
Leicy Santos Is In The Right Spot | Defector
The Boston Legacy is not known for being gentle. The expansion team has earned more yellow cards and committed more fouls than any other club in the NWSL this year. On Sunday, that didn’t matter for L...
defector.com
BREAKING: The USL and USLPA have reached a tentative agreement for the first CBA in Super League history, giving their women's players standardized rights like minimum salaries ($37.2K w/risers), player consent to transfers, insurance, housing. More on ESPN:
USL Super League, union agree to CBA key terms
The USL Super League and the USL Players Association announced on Thursday a tentative agreement over key terms of its first collective bargaining agreement.
espn.com
As WAFCON begins this weekend, the Orlando Pride prepare for a handful of matches without their Golden Boot leader Barbra Banda. How will they fare? @abigailsegel.bsky.social takes a closer look at who might step up in her absence.
As Banda heads to WAFCON, it's sink or swim for Orlando | The IX Soccer
Barbra Banda has scored 12 goals for the Pride this year. No one else has scored more than two. What will Orlando do?
theixsports.com
What it's like to watch the World Cup from Gaza: defector.com/what-its-lik...
What It's Like To Watch The World Cup From Gaza | Defector
The original version of this article was published in The Nation on July 13. When I first heard the 2026 World Cup was about to begin, I barely paid attention. This was partially because of the…
defector.com
If *waves hands* isn't enough American soccer drama for you, catch up on the NWSL's first matches after its summer break the off-field storylines that color them:
The IX Sports@theixsports.bsky.social · last mo.Sanchez soars and Louisville stumbles - all that and more in @abigailsegel.bsky.social's NWSL return-to-play roundup: www.theixsports.com/features/nws...
Only two of the five 2025 NWSL MVP finalists still play in the NWSL.
The NWSL is back tonight! At the beginning of the break, I took stock of the standings and looked at historic trends (with a lot of caveats) to predict who might make the playoffs come the season's end: www.thecutback.com/p/nwsl-playo...
The NWSL playoff picture after 12 games
Past seasons suggest most of the playoff field is already in place. The question now is which contenders can rise above – or fall below – the line after the summer break
thecutback.com
Sam Kerr's "full circle" return to Gotham FC is a testament to the team & NWSL's growth since she left for Chelsea in 2019, @abigailsegel.bsky.social writes. Kerr & Yael Averbuch West spoke to reporters today about the move and what a roster of stars means, tactically, culturally, & financially:
Sam Kerr’s ‘full circle’ return to Gotham speaks to team, league growth
Kerr says the NWSL was the only league she really saw herself in at this point in her career
equalizersoccer.com
anyway, codify protections, or your support means nothing grass-clippings.offprint.app/a/3mn3kh5oms...
Women's Football Must Do What it Has Done Countless Times Before: Stand Up
Inclusivity cannot be conditional
grass-clippings.offprint.app
I wrote about Mona Khalil's life and death, and what it means to do conservation work amid bombs, invasion, and occupation defector.com/mona-khalil-...
Mona Khalil, Who Devoted Her Life To Protecting Turtles, Killed By Israeli Airstrike | Defector
For half a century, a house on the coast in southern Lebanon has kept vigil over Al-Mansouri beach and the blue Mediterranean waters beyond. Mona Khalil’s grandfather built the house in the 1970s, aro...
defector.com
Anumita has a great rundown of what each NWSL team needs as the summer transfer season heats up:
The IX Sports@theixsports.bsky.social · 2mo agoNWSL transfer news is already aflutter, and the chaos will likely increase when the secondary transfer window opens in July. @ajsportstat.bsky.social picks what position each team should look to fill this summer based on the first third of the season: www.theixsports.com/the-ix-socce...
The USWNT learned how to punch back in their not-so-friendly friendlies against Brazil, but what else they learned remains to be seen. The World Cup can't come soon enough!! defector.com/the-uswnt-an...
The USWNT And Brazil Stretched The Definition Of "Friendly" | Defector
“Accept it. Accept it. It’s an uncontrollable. You cannot change it. Get over it. Get on with it.” Emma Hayes’s words may have aspired to equanimity, but her tone betrayed her. Coming off a 2-1 loss t...
defector.com
In the weeks following the announcement of the NWSL’s expansion to Columbus, I spoke to 6 fans who plan to buy season tickets about their excitement for the team, their mixed feelings about how it came to be, and what comes next: www.theguardian.com/football/202...
‘It leaves a bad taste in my mouth’: Columbus embraces NWSL while questioning the cost
A $205m expansion team is a sign of the league’s rapid growth, but conflicts over funding and facilities show the tensions of public-private partnerships in sports
theguardian.com
In the weeks following the announcement of the NWSL’s expansion to Columbus, I spoke to 6 fans who plan to buy season tickets about their excitement for the team, their mixed feelings about how it came to be, and what comes next: www.theguardian.com/football/202...
‘It leaves a bad taste in my mouth’: Columbus embraces NWSL while questioning the cost
A $205m expansion team is a sign of the league’s rapid growth, but conflicts over funding and facilities show the tensions of public-private partnerships in sports
theguardian.com
I conducted a scientific evaluation of the Denver Summit, with a focus on the most important metric for expansion teams: Are they any fun to watch? defector.com/the-denver-s...
The Denver Summit May Not Be Good, But They Sure Are Fun | Defector
There are many ways to measure the success of an expansion team. Are they filling stadiums? Do local fans seem engaged? Do they have an identity on the field? And, of course, are they any good? It’s ...
defector.com
we won 😭 defector.com/the-montreal...
The Montreal Victoire Make A Living As Champions | Defector
LAVAL, QUEBEC — I wasn’t close enough to hear Laura Stacey’s screams last Thursday, but I saw her wife’s panic clear as day. “When one of my teammates gets caught, I get fired up,” Marie-Philip Poulin...
defector.com
In Portland, where soccer has long been political, a new USL W team brought on the local Planned Parenthood as a kit sponsor. I spoke with folks from the Cherry Bombs, PP, & the Rose City Riveters about the collab & how reproductive health impacts women's sports: www.theixsports.com/the-ix-socce...
Portland Cherry Bombs team up with Planned Parenthood | The IX Soccer
The USL W's Portland Cherry Bombs will step onto the pitch Sunday proudly championing reproductive health through unique kit sponsorship.
theixsports.com
In Portland, where soccer has long been political, a new USL W team brought on the local Planned Parenthood as a kit sponsor. I spoke with folks from the Cherry Bombs, PP, & the Rose City Riveters about the collab & how reproductive health impacts women's sports: www.theixsports.com/the-ix-socce...
Portland Cherry Bombs team up with Planned Parenthood | The IX Soccer
The USL W's Portland Cherry Bombs will step onto the pitch Sunday proudly championing reproductive health through unique kit sponsorship.
theixsports.com
Michelle Cooper is good at soccer imo
Abigail Segel@abigailsegel.bsky.social · last yr.Michelle Cooper is finally having the pro season that her college career suggested she could, and she's earned consistent USWNT call-ups as a result. On the third-year Kansas City Current forward's talents and tenacity: defector.com/michelle-coo...
What is the most viewed women’s soccer league in the world? The NWSL? Good guess, but not it. The WSL? No. Frauen Bundesliga? A-League W? Liga F? Nope, nope, and nope. It’s Liga MX Femenil.
La Liga BBVA MX Femenil logra nuevo récord a nivel mundial
La Liga BBVA MX Femenil es potencia mundial al registrar casi 70 millones en el 2025. El crecimiento no para y a continuación te mostramos los detalles
tvazteca.com
I'm so happy I let the Montreal Victoire ruin my life for the past two weeks. ALLEZ VICTOIRE! defector.com/five-nights-...
Five Nights With The Montreal Victoire, Who Dragged Me To Hockey Heaven | Defector
LAVAL, QUEBEC — The crowd at Place Bell for Game 1 was wound tight, like a guitar string on the brink of snapping. Our Montreal Victoire, who had never won more than one game in a playoff series, let ...
defector.com
And now for our second story of the *very first* day at @weareravenous.com, I wrote about the decline of the American sports bar, and how two very disparate forces — women's sports, and gambling — are shaping its future. www.weareravenous.com/women-sports...
Will Lesbians and Gambling Save the American Sports Bar?
It may seem as if these two distinct types of sports bars — the women’s sports bar and the gambling lounge — exist on totally different planets. But they’re products of the exact same social environme...
weareravenous.com