Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank is accused of organizing an anti-transgender demonstration inside Lumen Field for Seattle Reign FC's regular-season finale against the Orlando Pride on Sunday, according to emails shared by the advocacy group Defend Washington. The emails reportedly show Swank directing attendees to buy tickets in a specific section, conceal their shirts upon entry, and reveal them at halftime.
The allegations were first reported by theburnerseattle.com, which wrote that Swank assembled roughly 80 people on an email thread organizing the demonstration, including right-wing influencer Conspiracookie. The outlet reported that Swank instructed participants to buy tickets in the supporters' section, enter with their shirts concealed, and reveal them at halftime. Defend Washington, which opposes a statewide ballot initiative to ban transgender girls from playing in girls K-12 sports, said Swank directed upwards of 90 people to buy tickets in a Lumen Field section where the Royal Guard, Seattle Reign FC's fan club, often waves Pride flags, according to emails the group shared with the News Tribune.
Per the News Tribune, Swank said on October 24 that he was seeking many men and women to attend a sporting event wearing XX-XY Athletics shirts, a brand that advocates for keeping transgender girls and women out of girls and women's sports, and said attendees would stand up for free speech. Two days later, Swank reported the group had grown to 87 people who had been told to buy tickets for the game against Orlando Pride, and he instructed attendees to enter the stadium with shirts covered and display them at halftime.
Sheriff Has Not Addressed the Allegations Publicly
Swank has not responded to requests for comment from either theburnerseattle.com or the News Tribune. He did, however, email his group on October 28 claiming an infiltrator had told the News Tribune about the event, and he said he organized the gathering and was informing members because he shared what he knew, according to the News Tribune's reporting. Seattle Reign FC also did not respond to a request for comment, per the same account.
The News Tribune reports that Swank has a history of making pejorative online comments about transgender people. On October 25, he reportedly urged followers to vote to keep boys out of girls' sports and said there was no such thing as a transgender boy or girl, adding that sex categories are boy or girl and man or woman, with limited biological anomalies. Swank has said he opposes Initiative 638, the ballot measure his demonstration is tied to.
What Initiative 638 Would Actually Do
Washington voters are deciding Initiative 638 in Tuesday's general election. The measure would ban transgender students from competing in K-12 interscholastic girls' sports, according to the Washington State Standard. Students seeking to participate in K-12 girls-only sports would be required to turn in a physical exam obtained from a medical professional that lists their sex assigned at birth, the outlet reported. Washington is one of four states, along with Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska, voting this cycle on sex-based eligibility requirements for school sports via ballot measure, per the Standard.
The Washington State Standard reports that approximately 10 students participating in Washington school sports have disclosed that they are transgender, while an earlier KUOW report from earlier this month put the figure at fewer than 10 trans athletes participating in school sports statewide. A poll commissioned by Let's Go Washington, which the group said queried 7,500 people, found support for the initiative from 73% of Republicans, 48% of Democrats and 52% of independents, according to KUOW.
Defend Washington director Reiny Cohen pushed back on the demonstration plans, saying no trans women are on Reign FC's roster or any other National Women's Soccer League team. Cohen said disrupting a women's professional soccer event for political purposes and social media views does not protect women's spaces, and said voters do not support harming girls. Defend Washington has said Swank plans to disrupt Seattle Reign FC's Sunday match with anti-transgender messaging.
A Similar Scene Played Out in Portland
The planned Seattle demonstration echoes an incident at a Portland Thorns match earlier this month. Portland Thorns FC escorted out podcast host Brandi Kruse and a group of protesters on October 23 after they revealed XX-XY shirts and a Save Women's Sports banner, a confrontation first detailed by Yahoo Sports. Demonstrators there kept their shirt logos covered during the first half, then revealed them and unfurled the banner as the second half began, mirroring the tactics described in the emails tied to Swank's planned Seattle event.
Kruse said, per The New York Times, that the Thorns protest was staged to send a message about protecting women's and girls' sports. The Times reported the group of two dozen protesters evoked ire from Thorns fans, while Yahoo Sports, citing an OutKick report, put the number at about 20 people — accounts that differ on the exact size of the Portland crowd.
Seattle Reign Chases a Playoff Berth
Away from the controversy, Sunday's match carries real stakes for Seattle Reign FC. The club is hosting the Orlando Pride at Lumen Field at 2 p.m. PT in its regular-season finale, according to Seattle Reign FC, with the team looking to secure the final spot in the 2026 NWSL Playoffs. The game falls in the same week Washington voters head to the polls on Tuesday, November 3, to decide Initiative 638, adding extra weight to whatever unfolds in the stands.
