A scarf reading “Save Women’s Sports” became the catalyst for a national conversation. Our action at the Portland Thorns game used political theater to make the struggle over women’s sports visible—and the response carried our message far beyond the stadium. Viewed through Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, it illustrates how timing, terrain, and an opponent’s reaction can amplify a small group’s influence. In the warfare of ideas, political theater can turn a message people ignore into a contradiction they cannot unsee.
This post was inspired by apt commentary and analysis of my Save Women's Sports Portland Thorns Action by Ed Drain on Facebook who wrote:
You boys got Sun-Tzu'd by Amy E. Sousa and her many friends. People are comparing her to Bruce Lee when he talked about Attack by Draw. It is quite apt, but the deeper and truest analysis puts her moves much closer to Sun Tzu.
Sousa’s Playbook Through The Art of War:
1. “All warfare is based on deception.”
The group hid its XX-XY shirts during the first half and revealed them, with the banner, only when the second half began. Security and other fans couldn’t anticipate or head off the demonstration because they didn’t know it was coming.
2. “If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him.”
This is the core of the comparison. Sousa picked a fan base known for strong progressive and pro-trans sentiment. Any heated reaction there would be more newsworthy than the banner itself. The demonstration needed the reaction to work, and the setting made a reaction likely.
3. “The good fighter... puts himself beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waits for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.”
The action was built so that every outcome favored her side. If the banner stayed up, the message was shown at a women’s match. If the group was ejected, that was a free-speech story. If fans got physical, that was a victimization story with video. There was no result that counted as a loss.
4. “Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril.”
The September ejection at the same stadium worked as a reconnaissance run. It showed how Thorns security and fans would respond. October’s plan was adjusted to match: a larger group, the reveal timed for continuous play, and a reporter present.
5. Timing and terrain.
Sun Tzu stresses choosing the moment. The demonstration came about a week into voting on I-638, the measure Sousa and Kruse are pushing in Washington. National coverage at that moment was worth far more than it would have been in, say, February.
6. Using allies and “spies.”
Sun Tzu devotes a full chapter to intelligence and information. An OutKick reporter was on site filming, so the group’s version of events reached a national audience within hours. A DOJ review followed by morning. That multiplied the effect of a 20-person action.
7. Winning without a pitched battle.
“Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” Sousa didn’t need to persuade anyone in the stadium. The aim was the audience watching afterward, especially Washington voters.
You outsmarted the cultist dummies! These dipshits don't even know they're fascists.
The intolerance and the violence of the gender cult always reveals itself.