On Monday night, the Portland Timbers released a statement on their website and social media addressing the use of the “Iron Front” image on banners and flags in the stadium.

I think they managed to get just about everything wrong. 

What did Portland ban? What is the Iron Front and who are Antifa?

In order to explain just how badly they dealt with this, we should first define a few of the terms.

For those who do not know, the “Iron Front” is an anti-fascist symbol dating back to World War II. With fascist language and actions increasing in the United States and around the world, MLS supporters in Portland across the league have used the Iron Front symbol to express their opposition to an ideology that is fundamentally racist, bigoted, and undemocratic. Those seem like good things to be against, and the Portland Timbers claim to think so as well. But it’s hard to tell that from reading their statement.

This season, MLS introduced a ban on political displays around the league. The policy allows for some flexibility to decide what counts as “political” and what doesn’t, but as you can imagine, opinions vary widely. In this case, the Timbers claim “We didn’t make the rule banning the Iron Front on signs but we understand it and support it.” But shouldn’t a club that claims to be firmly anti-fascist support the right of supporters to display an anti-fascist symbol? 

The controversy traces back to the use of the Iron Front symbol by “antifa,” a loosely-defined anti-fascist movement in the United States. The problem, according to Portland and MLS, is that some people flying the Iron Front symbol have committed acts of violence. In their eyes, this association with violent antifa activists makes the image too political to appear on flags and banners at their games. 

But Portland doesn’t seem to understand what antifa actually is, and how it works. Antifa is not an organization, but a loose affiliation shared by many different groups. The entirety of antifa can’t be reduced to the violence of some specific protestors any more than the entirety of Timbers fandom could be reduced to the actions of a few specific individuals. 

Portland want to treat ‘human rights’ and ‘politics’ as opposites. But there is nothing more political than human rights.

While I think Portland get things terribly wrong in this case, I want to start by noting their legitimate bona fides on this subject. Part of the reason why this whole adventure is so disheartening is because I truly do believe that Portland has been an example to the world when it comes to embracing their role as human rights defenders. I have admired them for this for a long time and hope to continue doing so. But I think they got it wrong here. 

Human rights is a broad term that can encompass a lot of different things. People have been arguing about what, if anything, should count as an inherent human right for pretty much all of recorded history, and rarely have found much agreement. But in the modern era, we’ve generally narrowed the scope a bit and agreed to treat human rights primarily as the guarantees laid out in a series of international treaties and agreements. These still leave some room for disagreement, but the general outline is pretty clear. 

So, when Portland talked about MLS allowing “discretion locally over what is deemed broader human rights in their respective markets,” I had some questions. Maybe this is all just a misunderstanding caused by poor writing, but it seems like Portland is suggesting that people in different MLS markets have different inherent rights. And I’d like to know which specific rights are up for local interpretation. Admittedly there is some debate within the human rights world about whether rights are relative to individual cultures or are universal, so maybe Portland takes a relativist approach to the argument.

But more realistically, they were probably trying to make a simpler (and much worse) argument. Basically, I think they’re just trying to say that what is deemed “political” in one market might not be “political” in another market. But they’re co-opting the language of human rights to make this argument. And that’s the heart of the problem.

Which brings me to my least favorite line in this entire poorly written statement: “What comes into question is what is considered political and what is more broadly a human rights issue?” Aside from the fact that the language makes this sound like the musings of a philosophy undergrad, it also completely misses the point: that human rights and the people who defend them have always been and will always be political. It is impossible to separate the rights people are afforded from the day-to-day politics that surrounds them. Just look at the masses of people having their human rights violated under the Trump administration. Or frankly, any society in the world. Human rights are always reliant on who has power and who doesn’t, which always comes down to politics. 

To say that someone has a human right, but isn’t allowed to speak about the right because it would be ‘political’ is really just to say that the right doesn’t actually exist.

Why do fans insist on using the Iron Front? Because it communicates that they are not okay with what is happening in the country and the world. Because even in the luxury of a professional sporting event, they think it’s important to make it clear where they stand.

People cannot have human rights without fighting for them. If Portland and MLS are going to claim that they are “a stage for support of human rights causes,” then they need to protect their supporters’ ability to use that stage regardless of the political climate of the day.

These are not normal times, and we need to stop pretending that they are.

In all the debate about politics in sports, people seem to forget that these are not “normal” political times. Human beings are in cages, being denied basic human dignity because they are fleeing terror in their own countries. Families are being torn apart and white supremacists are marching down our streets. And by the way, the white supremacists are at our football clubs too, but I haven’t seen too many club statements about that.

Would you have gone to the Olympics in Berlin in 1934 because “sports should stay out of politics?” Would you feel good about that decision? Every day in this country and in the world sports organizations turn their backs on the issues that matter in the name of staying apolitical, something that can never be achieved. And to see it come from Portland, a place that has always dared to make that connection and have that conversation, is not only shameful: it’s dangerous. 

We are in the middle of something really scary right now. If we plan on stopping atrocities, all our institutions need to be standing against fascism. That includes soccer clubs, especially the most progressive soccer club in the country.

Portland, you claim to stand against fascism. Show it with your actions. I understand that much of this came from the league. But push back. Now is the time to push back. 

A couple of weeks ago, a video emerged on Twitter of a group of Atlanta United fans singing. Their words carry a simple message that should be the message of the entire league.

“If you’re a Nazi, get up and f*cking go.” 

The Game Changers is a weekly series looking at the most important results each week. Each section will look at one team and how its win, loss, or draw impacts the season.

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We are approaching the final month of the regular season and the race for the top four spots in the NWSL table is still a game of inches. The Portland Thorns sit at the No. 1 spot and created a four-point gap between themselves and the Chicago Red Stars with another win this week. Meanwhile, Chicago’s winning streak came to an end with a 2-1 loss to Sky Blue. The North Carolina Courage were off playing in the International Champions Cup, but they still sit in the No. 3 spot. And the Utah Royals jumped into the final playoff spot this week with a 2-0 victory over the Orlando Pride, knocking Reign FC out of the top four. Here is a full breakdown of this week’s results: 

Sky Blue FC vs. Chicago Red Stars (2-1)

Orlando Pride vs. Utah Royals (0-2)

Portland Thorns vs. Washington Spirit (3-1)

Sky Blue FC vs. Reign FC (1-1)

Chicago Red Stars win streak ends. 

The Chicago Red Stars five-game win streak came to an last week with a 2-1 loss to Sky Blue FC. The Red Stars were arguably the better team on the night — they had 17 shots compared to 11 from Sky Blue and they won the possession battle. Sky Blue relied on goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, who made five saves, to keep them in the game. Sky Blue scored first in the 71st minute — Carli Lloyd passed the ball to rookie Paige Monaghan, who cut back against her defender and sent the ball into the far corner past Alyssa Naeher. In stoppage time, Sam Kerr created some late drama with a goal of her own, but Monaghan– in the first start of her career– scored a late winner from the edge of the 18-yard box. Sky Blue walked away with three points and the Red Stars went home empty-handed.

This loss is significant to the Red Stars because it creates a gap between them and the No. 1 ranked Portland Thorns. While the Red Stars stayed at 29 points this week, with a win the Portland Thorns jumped to 33 points. Chicago has six games left compared to Portland’s five, but if they want to jump into that No. 1 spot, Chicago needs to be getting points out of every match. 

The Utah Royals continue their strong run.

The Utah Royals are on a win streak of their own now, winning their third match in a row Saturday against the Orlando Pride. Both teams created plenty of chances, but it was the Utah Royals who were able to capitalize. Christen Press opened scoring in the 60th minute. Lo’eau Labonta sent a beautiful high ball into the box and Press was able to finish it off, sending it into the far corner of the net. In the 77th minute, Amy Rodriguez doubled the Royals’ tally with a goal of her own. Vero Boquete slid a ball through the Orlando defense and to the feet of Rodriguez, who chipped goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and sent the ball into the back of the net. Harris had to make eight saves, but her defensive work wasn’t enough. The Pride had no answers on the other end of the field. 

After a really rough stretch through June and July, the Royals are back to their winning ways. Press has scored in two of the Royals’ last three matches and has six goals on the season. Rodriguez has eight goals this season and has scored in each of their last three matches. They sit just two points away from the No. 2 Chicago Red Stars, but they also are tied on points with No. 5 Reign FC. The win this week lifted Utah into a playoff spot, but they’ll need to fight some worthy opponents to keep it. 

Reign FC drop points on the road.

Reign FC traveled to Red Bull Arena this weekend to face off against Sky Blue FC. It was one of the most important games of the year, testing whether a team that has dealt with so many shortcomings could perform in an MLS stadium. The game had a certain electricity and attracted over 11,000 fans. But for Reign FC, the result on the field was disappointing. Both goals in the 1-1 draw came within two minutes of each other. Sky Blue scored first when Elizabeth Eddy sent the ball soaring over Casey Murphy. But just two minutes later, Jodie Taylor finished off a cross that bounced into the back of the net. The two teams both left Red Bull Arena with a point in hand.

With the Utah Royals win over Orlando, Reign FC are now on the outside of the playoff picture. They’re tied with Utah for points, and they sit just one point behind the North Carolina Courage and two points behind the Chicago Red Stars. But they also haven’t been able to find a rhythm — Chicago just ended a five-game winning streak and Utah is on a three-game winning streak. But Reign FC’s results have been more of a mixed bag, with two wins, two losses, and a draw in their last five matches. They need to pick up all the points they can if they want to make the playoffs — making matches like this one critical.